
Bonk ...B^y 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



MODERN 

PROPAGATION OF TREE FRUITS 



BY 



B. S. BROWN, M.S. 

Professor of Horticulture, University of Maine 



FIRST EDITION 
FIRST THOUSAND 



NEW YORK 

JOHN WILEY & SONS, l^c. 

London: CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited 

1916 



-^^5' 

^v 



Copyright, 1916 

BY 

B. S. BROWN 



W II 1916 

PRESS OF 

BR^UNWORTH &. CO. 

BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS 

BROOKLYN, N. Y. 

©CI,A438314 



PREFACE 



In preparing this little book three important factors 
were kept in mind. First, only to include those practices 
of propagation which are in general use and which are 
accepted by the orchardist and the commercial nursery 
man as being the most important. Second, to furnish in 
a condensed form such information on propagation as will 
enable the general fruit grower to follow out the practices. 
It is assumed that the average fruit grower has a general 
knowledge of the various methods of propagation, hence 
the many confusing details are here omitted. 

Third, an attempt is made to follow rather closely the 
methods employed by the arger commercial nurseries and 
to contrast these with the similar operations of the orchard- 
ists. The fruit grower who buys his nursery stock desires 
to know something of the methods whereby it is produced. 
The student of Horticulture needs a general knowledge of 
nursery work and how to apply it to either commercial or 
home use. It is hoped that the work is sufficiently clear 
that any interested fruit grower can successfully produce 
his own trees, thereby creating a desire to know more and 
to do greater things. ' * . .•'^*- 

To all those who Have contributed to the work in any 
way, my thanks are due. I am especially indebted to The 



iv PREFACE 

Greening Nursery Co., Monroe, Michigan; to the Stark 
Brothers Nurseries & Orchards Co., Louisiana, Mo.; to 
The Shenandoah Nurseries, Shenandoah, Iowa; to F. W. 
Watson & Co., Topeka, Kans.; to the Department of Agri- 
culture, Raleigh, N. C; and to the University of Maine, 
Extension Department, for their photographs of the various 
nursery operations. 

B. S. Beown. 

Orono, Maine. 
June, 1916. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

Seed for Propagation 1 

Importance of Nursery Business. Investments in Nurseries. 
Current Nursery Practice — Seed — Stocks for the Different 
Tree Fruits. Securing Seed — Gathering Apple Seed — Sub- 
tropical Seed. Use of Cuttings. Shipping Seed. Quanti- 
ties Used. 

CHAPTER II 

Growing the Seedlings 20 

Stratification of Seed — Special Seed Beds — Lath Houses — 
Other Methods. Handling the Seed — Use of Planters. 
Large vs. Small Seed — Shading — Summer Planting — Freez- 
ing Fruit Seed — Soaking Fruit Seed — Cracking Hard Seed. 
Testing Seed — Viability of Fruit Seed. 

CHAPTER III 

The Nursery 32 

General Considerations. Points on Location. Small Nursery 
Plats. Nursery Sites — Soil, Requirements — Drainage — 
Protection from Wind and Snow — Protection from Animals 
— Size of the Plat — Preparation of the Plat — Planting. Set- 
ting out Imported Seedlings. Cultural Methods — Spraying 
— Fall Treatment of SeedUngs — Grades of Seedlings. 

CHAPTER IV 

Budding Operations 55 

Budding or Grafting. The Prevailing Practice. The Budding 
Operations — Tools for Budding — Stripping the Seedlings. 

V 



vi TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Ivinds of Budding — June Budding and Dormant Budding — 
Inserting the Bud — After Treatment. Budding Practice 
in Large Nurseries — Twig Budding — Bark Budding — After 
Treatment. Summer Culture of Budded Stock — Sprouting. 
Selecting Buds. Collecting " Bud Sticks " — Buds from 
Bearing Trees. Shipping " Bud Sticks." 



CHAPTER V 

Grafting Operations 79 

Grafting Tools — Saws — Chisel and Mallet — Pruning Shears — 
Grafting Wax — Use of Oil in Wax — Waxing Pot — Wax For- 
mulae. Theory of Grafting. Kinds of Grafts — Whip 
Grafts — Callusing — Piece Root or Whole Root Grafts — Side- 
whip Grafts. Top Working Old Trees. Cleft Grafting- 
Veneer Grafting — Side Grafting — Bark Grafting — Inarch- 
ing — Bridge Grafting. Collecting Cions. 



CHAPTER VI 

Propagation by Cuttings Ill 

Cuttings — Fruits Grown from Cuttings. Parts Used. Class- 
ification of Cuttings — Principles Involved — Callusing Bed. 
Kinds of Cuttings — Single Eye Cutting — Simple Cutting — 
Heel Cutting— Mallet Cutting— Root Cutting— Nurse Root 
Cutting — Tip Cutting — Truncheons — Soft Wood Cuttings. 



CHAPTER VII 

The After Treatment of Nursery Stock 130 

Summer Culture — Heading Back — Trimming Up — Spraying. 
Spray Machines — Counting the Trees — Digging the Trees. 
Pulling the Trees — Fumigation — Storage Sheds — Grading. 
Grades of Trees. Sales Methods — Sub-agents — Catalog 
Selling — Jobbers and Dealers — Office Routine — Filling the 
Order. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS vii 

CHAPTER VIII 

PAGE 

Some General Considerations 152 

Pedigree Nursery Stock. Double Working of Nursery Trees. 
Influence of Stock on Cion — Dwarfing — Vigor — Resistance 
to Diseases and Insect Pests. Hardiness in Nursery Stock. 
Horticultural Novelties. Nursery Inspection Laws — State 
and Federal Regulation. Nursery Organizations and So- 
cieties. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



FIG, PAGE 

1. An Orchard for Growing Myrobalan Seed in California 7 

2. Some Common Fruit Seed 8 

3. Seed Bearing Trees Growing by the Roadside 12 

4. Separating Apple Seed from Pomace 13 

5. Washing Out Apple Seed 14 

6. Some of the Less Common Fruit Seed 16 

7. Lath Propagating House 22 

8. A Southern Propagating House 23 

9. A Fruit Seed Planter ; 24 

10. Fifty Acres of Apple Seedlings 26 

11. The Skinner System of Irrigation 37 

12. A Nursery with Good Natural Protection 38 

13. A Trencher for Planting Seedhngs 41 

14. A Firmer for Packing Soil around the Planted Seedlings 42 

15. Shdingoff the Soil Ridges over Seed just before Growth Starts 43 

16. Cultivating Seedhngs 44 

17. Firming the Ground after Cultivating 45 

18. Burying Apple Seedlings to Remove Leaves 47 

19. Field of Apple Seedlings 48 

20. Storage Cellar in which Apple Seedlings are Handled 49 

21. Apple Seedhngs. No. 1 Straight 50 

22. Apple Seedhngs. No. 2 Straight 51 

23. Apple Seedhngs. No. 1 Branched 53 

24. Standard Budding Knives 58 

25. Peach Seedlings the Right Size for Stripping 59 

26. Stripping the Young Seedlings 60 

27. Making the T-cut for the Bud 62 

28. Cutting the Bud 62 

29. Inserting the Bud 63 

ix 



X ^LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIG. PAGE 

30. Peach Budded on Almond 65 

3L A Budding Crew 66 

32. Twig Bud 67 

33. Knife for Cutting Bark Buds. . 69 

34. Tying a Bark Bud 70 

35. Bud Set and Tie Removed 71 

36. Large Tree Worked over by Bark Budding 73 

37. Grafting Tools 80 

38. Bench Working, Whip Grafts 87 

39. Whip Grafts 88 

40. Maching for Wrapping Whip Grafts 90 

41. Wrapping Machine in Operation 91 

42. Whip Root Grafts 93 

43. Side Whip Grafts 94 

44. Working over an Almond Orchard to Prunes in California. ... 96 

45. Cleft Grafts 97 

46. Young Tree Cleft Grafted 98 

47. Same Tree after Two Years' Growth 98 

48. Top-worked Tree, leaving "Nurse" Branches 100 

49. Veneer, or V Grafting 101 

50. Side Grafts 102 

51. Bark Grafts 104 

52. Inarching 105 

53. Bridge Grafts , 107 

54. Bridge Grafts after Two Years 108 

55. Some Types of Cuttings 117 

56. Grape Cuttings .120 

57. Citrus Cuttings 122 

58. Nurse Root Cutting 125 

59. Truncheons 127 

60. A Gasoline Nursery Cultivator 131 

61. A Gasoline Cultivator in Operation 132 

62. A Nursery Sprayer 135 

63. Digging Nursery Trees by Steam 136 

64. Pulling the Trees after Digger has Passed 138 

65. Hauling Nursery Trees to Storage 139 

66. Fumigating Nursery Trees 140 

67. Trees Stored in Cellar Previous to Grading 141 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi 

FIG. PAGE 

68. Trees In Ricks Ready for Filling Orders 142 

69. Grades of Nursery Trees 144 

70. Packing Stock for Shipment 149 

71. Double Worked Nursery Trees 154 

72. Almond Grafted on Peach 156 

73. Almond Grafted on Peach 157 

74. Almond Grafted on Plum 158 

75. Cross-section through Some Old Grafts 159 



MODERN 
PROPAGATION OF TREE FRUITS 



CHAPTER I 
SEED FOR PROPAGATION 

Practically all of our more common varieties of 
fruit do not " come true to seed," hence the usual methods 
of budding and grafting have to be resorted to in order to 
perpetuate standard varieties. Some few of our fruits 
can be grown from cuttings, some do best by budding, 
while others are usually grafted. No particular method 
is necessary or vital to each kind of fruit, but the various 
operations now employed are the result or outgrowth of 
efforts to economize in propagation. 

From the standpoint of the practical orchardist the 
growing of nursery stock is usually left to companies or 
independent concerns which make that branch of horti- 
culture their chief business. The vast number of new 
orchards now set every year make the growing of nursery 
stock of more than passing interest, and it is becoming 
the business of up-to-date orchard men to look deeper and 
deeper into the '' why " and '^ how " of propagation. 
While it may seldom be feasible for an orchardman to grow 



2 SEED FOR PROPAGATION 

his own stock it is always advisable to know as much about 
the business as possible. 

The work of propagation divides itself naturally into 
two groups. One, the modern nursery company whose 
chief business is to grow young trees. Such companies 
manifest Httle interest in the production of fruit, growing 
only what is necessary for the work of production. The 
other is the orchardist who desires to grow his own stock 
or to carry on some experiment in connection with his 
orchard work. Such men are responsible for much of the 
advancement in horticultural knowledge and their ability 
should have full recognition among all students of the 
subject. 

Investments in Nurseries. The U. S. Census of 1910 
reports 80,000 acres actually employed in the production 
of nursery stock. This represents an increase of thirty- 
five per cent over that of the ten preceding years. The 
capital invested in the above nursery companies approxi- 
mate $21,000,000. This represents one hundred per cent 
increase or a doubling in value of the ten-year period. 

Ninety-eight per cent of this business is handled by 
companies which make that their chief business, while the 
two per cent represents the work of the orchardists. In 
1910 there were 2470 nursery concerns in the United States 
having an average investment of $8348. The distribution 
of nursery companies is fairly even over the United States. 
The bulk of the stock, however, is grown in the central 
States; diminishing toward the north or south. Some of 
the leading States and the value of their business are repre- 
sented by the following figures: 



CUREENT NURSERY PRACTICE 3 

New York $4,355,000.00 

California 2,703,000.00 

Texas 1,236,000.00 

Kansas 948,000.00 

Pennsylvania 922,000.00 

Minnesota 863,000.00 

Ohio 860,000.00 

Iowa 845,000.00 

Illinois 822,000.00 

Not all parts of the country show increases in the 
nursery business. A number of sections show decreases in 
the decade following 1900. It is especially noticeable 
that the greatest decline comes from sections that were 
in the '' boom •' period in 1900 and have since fallen back 
to their productive level. Some of these are the New Eng- 
land, Virginia, Ozark and Colorado sections. 

Current Nursery Practice. Nursery practice all over 
the United States is founded on fairly definite general 
principles. The details, however, necessary for the put- 
ting of the principles into practice are widely variable 
due to the differences in local environment. As one would 
expect the difference in climate between the north and the 
south or the east and the west is such that many modi- 
fications of the common practices are necessary in order 
to expedite work or to facilitate ease or convenience in 
handling the stock. However, when one gets a good work- 
ing knowledge of the methods of propagation for any one 
section of the country, one can, by small changes in prac- 
tices to suit the needs of the local conditions, grow good 



4 SEED FOR PROPAGATION 

nursery stock in any part of the country. It is therefore 
desirable in this discussion to give only the more fundamenta 
operations and leave to the judgment of the reader such 
changes as are necessary to suit the work to his particular 
locality. 

Seed. The first step in the work of propagation is 
to secure good seed. Very few of our common fruits will 
grow well from cuttings, hence some kind of a seedling 
must be grown on which the standard varieties can be 
budded or grafted. It is therefore necessary to get good 
seed that will grow strong roots, or the resultant tree will 
be weak and below standard. It is also necessary to grow 
stock on which standard varieties can easily be united. 
There is a wide difference in the various fruits as to the 
strength of the union a graft will make, and also as to the 
life and vigor of the resulting tree. Nursery men quite 
generally agree upon the kinds of stock best suited for 
the various kinds of fruit. The following Hst gives the 
stocks used for the different fruits by the best nursery 
companies in the United States: 

Stocks for the Different Tree Fruits 
Common varieties. 



Apple (standard) , ^ 

[ French crabapple. 

Apple (dwarf) Paradise. 

Apple (semi-dwarf) Doucine. 

Chinese or Japanese. 



Pear (standard) i t^- iv it. i 

Kiener and French 

Pear (dwarf) Quince. 

Quince Common. 



SECURING SEED 5 

Almond. Bitter almond, peach or plum. 

Apricot Common apricot or peach. 

Cherry (sweet) Black Mazzard. 

Cherry (sour) Mahaleb. 

Peach Wild from Ken. and Tenn. 

Plum (Eastern States) Myrobalan. 

Plum (Western States) Myrobalan and Mariana. 

Walnut Black walnut. 

Pecan Own roots. 

Chestnut. Native American. 

Olive Own roots. 

Citrus fruits Sour orange and pomelo. 

Fig Grown from cuttings. 

Mulberry Grown from cuttings. 

Date palm Suckers or off-shoots. 

Banana Suckers or off-shoots. 

The above Hst comprises the most important fruits and 
the stocks mentioned are quite generally used through- 
out the United States. In certain localities other stock may 
be substituted but only to meet specific or unusual condi- 
tions. 

Securing Seed. The securing of good strong virile 
seed is not always easy. Some are collected in various 
parts of the country, others are grown by the nursery 
companies for their own use, while still others are imported 
from Europe. The business of seed collecting has never 
been given much consideration in the United States; hence 
many of our most important fruit seed have to be imported. 
It is unfortunate that more attention has not been given 



6 SEED FOR PROPAGATION 

to home grown seed as there is ample proof that such can 
be had just as good if not better than the imported. 

It seldom happens that the seed from the fruit of the 
more improved varieties are suitable for propagation 
work. They are usually low in vitahty and often fail 
to germinate altogether. The longer the varieties in ques- 
tion have been known the less likely are the seed to be good. 
It is not only necessary that the seed grow well, but also 
that the resulting seedlings be strong, vigorous and free 
from diseases. Varieties that have been propagated 
vegetatively for a long period of years have gradually weak- 
ened in their seed-producing power. It therefore follows 
that the nearer one can get to the wild state in collecting 
seed the better will be the results. 

The seed from the stone fruits (peach, plum, apricot, 
cherry, etc.), are collected to some extent in the United 
States. The peach seed comes mostly from the mountains 
and foot-hills of Kentucky and Tennessee. In this section 
it has run wild and simulated more nearly the conditions 
of its native country. The trees have had to fight for 
their own existence, and those that have survived are strong 
and vigorous. Where these cannot be obtained, access 
can only be had to the commercial varieties. A few kinds 
hke the Salway and Elberta produce good seed and are 
often substituted for the wild ones. Unscrupulous nur- 
serymen go direct to the canneries and driers and gather 
seed promiscuously. This often results in many weak 
and inferior specimens, resulting later in short-lived trees. 

With apricots the seed is usually collected from natural 
fruit where the grafts have failed to take, or from those 



SECURING SEED 7 

that have grown up along fences, creeks, etc. Almonds 
are collected about the same way as apricots. Many 
almonds that come naturally from seed are bitter, hence 
have no commerial value other than for nursery work. 
Almost every orchardhas some trees in it which have never 
been grafted, or the grafts have failed to take. These are 
usually separated at harvesting time and the fruit saved 




Fig. 1. — An Orchard for Growing Myrobalan Seed in California. 



for nursery work. It is not necessary that the almond 
seed be bitter in order to be used for nursery work, but 
they ought at least to be hard shells and selected from 
vigorous growing trees. 

For plum stock several sources of seed are available. 
The most common is the Myrobalan which is used in the 
eastern and central United States. Most nurserymen prefer 
to import this variety from Italy, where it grows wild and 



SEED FOR PROPAGATION 



• • I 




Fig. 2.— Some Common Fruit Seed. 1 Prime, 2 Apricot, 3 Almond, 

4 Peach. 



SECURING SEED 9 

where the fruit is used for making a cheap wine. In the 
southern and western United States this variety is often 
referred to as the Cherry Plum, because of its resemblance 
to the common cherry. The tree grows well in the warmer 
cUmates and many nurserymen are now growing their 
own plum seed, Fig. 1. The Myrobalan does not do well in 
the colder parts of the prairie sections of the United States, 
hence some other kind must be substituted. Two kinds 
are available for this purpose, the Mariana and the St. 
JuUan. Both are hardy and resistant to the cold dry 
atmosphere of the prairie winters. Some of the Japanese 
varieties of plums are grafted on to peach stock, but the 
practice is not general. 

The seed for growing cherry stock is of two distinct 
kinds. This is necessary because the common com- 
mercial varieties represent two different species which 
are quite distinct in their growth and habits. The sweet 
cherries which are frequently referred to as the Hearts and 
Bigarreaus, are usually grafted on to the Black Mazzard, 
which is a wild type of the same species. The sour cherries 
or the Dukes and Morellos are worked on to the Mahaleb. 
Both of these stocks grow well in the United States, yet 
very few nurserymen attempt to grow them for their own 
use. For the most part they are imported from Europe 
by some nursery supply house and redistributed in this 
country. There are many wild species of cherries in the 
eastern part of the United States which may be used as 
stock for the standard varieties, but few nursery companies 
make use of them, simply because there has been no effort 
to coUect them for the trade. 



10 SEED FOE PROPAGATION 

In the case of all the stone fruits, more or less dif- 
ficulty is experienced in removing the fleshy covering in 
order to get ths seed into suitable condition for handling 
or storage. With the Mahaleb and some types of the 
Myrobalan, the pulp is dried down on the pit and the seed 
is used in that condition. In most cases, however, the pulp 
must be removed. This may be done in either of two 
ways. One is to remove the flesh by hand, and then dry 
the pits in the sun. The other is to pile the fruit up in 
large piles and let them decay. After the pulp is fairly 
well rotted they are shovelled into a vat and soaked up with 
water. The souring or fermenting of the mass causes the 
pulp to become separated from the pits. They can then 
be separated by washing them over a wire screen. They 
are then dried in the sun, sacked up and stored in a cool 
moist place until needed. 

For stock on which to work apples, nurserymen are 
pretty generally agreed on the use of the so-called French 
Crabapple. Strictly speaking these are not crabapples 
but simply the fruit of a wild apple of France. Many of 
the low foothills and poor land areas of France are cov- 
ered with apples that have run wild, resembling somewhat 
in appearance the crabapple and somewhat our common 
apple. The French collect the fruit from these trees and, 
after extracting the juice for cider or vinegar, remove the 
seed from the pomace — thus the American " French 
Crab." 

The stock grown from these French seeds are quite 
generally uniform in their habits of growth and make 
strong vigorous seedlings. They are sometimes imported 



SECUEING SEED 11 

as seed but more often are grown for one year in Europe 
and then imported as seedlings. Nursery companies 
claim that they can buy the year-old seedHngs cheaper 
than they can get the seed and grow them themselves. 
The seedHngs thus grown are no better than American 
grown stock, — the situation simply represents an economic 
condition resulting from cheaper labor in Eiu:ope. 

In recent years efforts have been made to grow apple 
seedHngs in the United States. But few places have been 
found that will grow a smooth, clean plant with a straight 
root. The central west is now the chief center for growing 
these seedHngs. Mr. D. S. Lake of the Shenandoah Nur- 
series, Iowa, makes the following statement on the subject: 
" Nearly all the apple seedHngs grown in the United 
States are in the vicinity of Topeka, Kansas, up and down 
the Kaw valley for thirty miles or more each way. This 
bottom land is made soil and more or less sandy but ex- 
tremely fertile. There are about one thousand bushels 
of seed sown in the United States. Imported seed is mostly 
used and all the native seed used comes from Vermont, 
where there still remain some old seedling orchards. The im- 
proved cider mills crush the seed more or less and it is pretty 
hard to get good sound apple seed from Vermont. Some- 
times half of the seeds are cracked by the miUs, and when 
the hulls are once cracked there is no chance for the seed 
to grow. The French seeds are gathered from cider mills 
in sections where apples are grown for the cider only. They 
do not select choice varieties, but simply select and grow 
apples that produce the most cider. These apples are 
about the size of the seedHng kinds grown in Vermont 



12 



SEED FOE PROPAGATION 



and perhaps there are some similar orchards in other east- 
ern states. 

'^ The imported seed is strong in vitality and grow good 
seedlings, but the French seed is getting poorer than it 
used to be from the fact that instead of using the old mills 
that they used to, which did not injure the seed, they are 
gradually adopting the cylinder grinders like our own 




Fig. 3. — Good Seed-bearing Trees Growing by the Roadside. 



which crack the seed more or less and I do not think it 
will be a great while until even the French seed will be as 
inferior as the American apple seed is to-day. We figure 
in order to get one bushel of good seed we must buy two 
bushels. This was not the case years ago." 

There are many varieties of apples in the United States 
yielding seed that will answer every requirement of good 
nursery stock. These have never been made use of com- 



GATHEEING APPLE SEED 



13 



mercially, because of a lack of an organized effort on the 
part of any one to collect them for the trade. All through 
New England and in many of the other States apples grow 
wild in all sorts of places, Fig. 3. These often represent hardy, 
vigorous trees which bear fruit having plump, well-developed 
seed. There are also many of the commercial varieties 





I.- t»,.>. 



Fig. 4. — Skimming Off the Pomace. 

which yield good viable seed. Even the common run of 
seed as taken from apple pomace can be used to good ad- 
vantage if a little precaution is taken. 

Gathering Apple Seed. To collect apple seed for 
nursery purposes it is necessary to get plump, well-developed 
seed from strong, vigorous, growing trees. The fruit is 
separated at harvesting time and the juice extracted for 



14 



SEED FOE PROPAGATION 



cider or vinegar making. The pomace is then put into a 
barrel or tank and soaked with water. The Httle remain- 
ing sugar in the pomace gradually ferments, causing a thin 
slimy coat to form over the seed. The pomace is stirred 
thoroughly from time to time, causing the seed to separate 
from the pu'p and settle to the bottom. After three or 




Fig. 5. — Washing Out the Seed. 

four days the pomace can be skimmed off the top of the barrel 
and the seed separated. 

For separating the seed, two wire screens are needed, 
one of just large enough mesh to let the seed pass through 
and one small enough so they will not. Figs. 4 and 5. If, in 
addition, running water can be had the task will be easy. 
The large mesh screen will separate most of the pomace, 
while the smaller one will take out the smaller particles. 



GATHERING APPLE SEED 15 

Then a little washing with the hose will leave the seed free 
from the pulp. They should then be spread thinly on trays 
in the sun to dry. When dried sufficiently to prevent 
molding they are sacked and stored in a cool moist place. 
Only heavy seeds, which are the good ones, will settle to 
the bottom. The poorer ones rising to the top are skimmed 
off with the pulp. In this way only good seeds are secured. 
Figures four and five will give an idea how this work may 
be done. 

Pear seed is collected in the same way as apple seed. 
There is less use for cider or vinegar made from pears than 
from apples, yet they are often used commercially. Where 
it is not desirable to first remove the juice from the fruit, 
they can be piled up in the open and allowed to decay. 
After several days, fermentation will be sufficiently ad- 
vanced £0 that the fruit may be treated in the same way 
as the apple pomace. 

Nurserymen import most of the pear seed used for stock. 
The seeds from the Chinese or Japanese sand pear and 
the common French pear are the most used, being preferred 
for their resistance to the pear bhght disease. Sometimes 
American grown seeds are used, in which case those of the 
Kieffer variety are preferred. This particular variety is 
a hybrid between the Chinese pear and the Bartlett, and 
partakes lat-gely of its Oriental parent in its resistance 
to diseases. Other varieties are occasionally used, and in 
sections where the pear blight is not bad most any strong 
growing kind would answer. 

For other tree fruits the customs are not so well fixed. 
In propagating the various kinds of nuts, numerous methods 



16 



SEED FOR PROPAGATION 



are used. The English or Persian walnuts are either 
grafted on their own seedlings or on those of the Black 
Walnuts. The latter is preferred because of its hardiness 
and resistance to certain diseases. In the moist sections, 
the Eastern Black Walnut is used; while in the arid regions 
the Arizona Black or California Black are used because of 
their adaptability to the drier conditions. Pecans are 
worked on the more hardy native seedlings. Many of these 




I 



Olive -Olea europa 




Spanish Chestnut - Castena vesca 






Pecan - Hicoria pecan Michory - Hicoria o vata 

Fig. 6. — Some of the Less Common Tree Fruit Seed. 



nuts are grown as seedlings, because only in recent years has 
any definite effort been made to develop better varieties, 
and the nearer any variety is to the native or wild con- 
dition the less the need for any special stock. 

Chestnuts are usually worked upon the native American 
stock. Many of these are still grown as seedlings, there 
having been little effort toward improved strains. The 
hickories, butternuts, filberts and other wild nuts are almost 
entirely grown direct from seed, there being no need of 



SUB-TROPICAL SEEDS— USE OF CUTTINGS 17 

grafting. It is to be regretted that no greater effort has 
been put forth to improve some of our native nuts. They 
are widely variable, and in the hands of the right person 
could be developed into improved and highly desirable 
strains or varieties. 

Sub-tropical Seeds. In the case of the tree fruits 
of the warmer climates no great choice of seeds exists. 
The citrus fruits (orange, lemon, pomelo, etc.), have quite 
a wide range of stock as they will readily interwork on the 
different species. The Florida sour stock, the seedling 
pomelo and the sweet orange comprise the bulk of the stock 
for all the different kinds of cirtus fruit. Formerly many 
lemons were used but these have since been discarded. 
They grow well, make a strong union but are not as hardy 
as the others. The Florida sour stock is preferred, and 
many propagators use it altogether. 

The olive is sometimes grown from seed but more fre- 
quently from cuttings. The olive seeds are peculiar in 
that they have an oil sack surrounding the embryo which 
prevents moisture from getting in to start germination. 
Thus most olive seeds must have two years to germinate, 
making the process a long; tedious one. In Europe the 
hard seeds are cracked. But this is difficult as each seed 
has to be screwed up in a vise just enough to make a small 
crack. If overdone the germ is destroyed. However, 
they root fairly well from cuttings and do not have to be 
budded or grafted over. 

Use of Cuttings. Some few tree fruits are grown from 
cuttings because the seed is either lacking or hard to grow. 
Of these the most important are figs and mulberries. Both 



18 SEED FOR PROPAGATION 

have very small seeds and in the case of the fig are very 
difficult to start, — in fact many of them are infertile. 
Olives and quinces are as frequently propagated from cut- 
tings as from seed; and apples, pears and most of the citrus 
fruits may be grown in this way. The stone fruits are dif- 
ficult to propagate vegetatively but can be so grown. The 
methods employed in growing trees from cuttings are quite 
different from seed propagation and will be discussed later. 

Shipping Seed. As much of the fruit tree seed is 
gathered a long way from where it is to be used, some 
attention must be given to preparation for shipment. 
Most seed should be dry enough so it will not mold in 
bulk, yet not enough to lessen the germinating quahties. 
Most all of the nut fruits when thoroughly dried fail to 
grow. This is largely the reason why commercial nuts 
bought on the open market do not grow. 

Small seeds like apple and pear may be mixed with 
powdered charcoal which acts as an equalizer of moisture. 
Larger seeds may be shipped in paper bags or cloth sacks 
anywhere on land, but if they are to cross the ocean they 
must be protected from salt air and excessive moisture. 
Oiled paper is used for small quantities, while boxes lined 
with some waterproofing material are used for large 
quantities. 

Quantities Used. No carefully prepared statistics 
showing the quantities of fruit seed imported are avail- 
able, but an average estimate from known sources would 
probably reach two hundred thousand dollars annually. 
Many nursery companies prefer to have the seed grown one 
year and then imported as seedlings. This method repre- 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 19 

sents a saving because of cheap labor in most foreign 
countries. Importations of such seedHngs, including cut- 
tings, average eight hundred thousand dollars annually. 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 

1. Why do not most standard varieties of fruit '' come true to 



2. Who grows most of the nursery trees? Why? 

3. Discuss the investments in nursery business. 

4. Give a list of the tree fruits and the seeds used in growing 

stock for each. 

5. Where is each different kind of seed collected? 

6. What advantages have imported seed, if any? 

7. Why are not American seeds more generally used? 

8. Discuss the collecting of seeds for the stone fruits. 

9. Give in detail the method of extractiag apple seed. 

10. Why is " French Crab " seed preferred for apples? 

11. How does the handling of seeds for nut trees differ from the 

others? 

12. What are the sub-tropical fruits and the seeds used for each? 

13. Why are olive seed especially hard to germinate? 

14. What fruits are usually propagated from cuttings? Why? 

15. How are fruit seeds handled for shipment? 



CHAPTER II 

GROWING THE SEEDLINGS 

Stratification. There are several methods employed 
in germinating the seed, depending upon the extent of the 
business and upon the convenience of the handler. They 
are sometimes planted directly into the nursery row and some- 
times put through a sprouting process during the winter 
months in special seed beds, and then removed to the nur- 
sery in the spring. In the latter case several methods 
are employed. The usual one, however, is to bury the seed 
in a light sandy soil during fall or winter and then remove to 
the nursery row after sprouting has started. For the larger 
seeds, such as the peach and plum, a plot of ground is 
selected in the garden or some convenient place near where 
they are to be set in the nursery, and after levelling off, 
the seeds are spread out in a thin layer and then covered 
with from two to four inches of soil. In the prevailing 
climatic conditions of the south and west the seeds should 
be put into the bed during the months of November, De- 
cember or January. The earher in the winter they are put 
in the thicker should be the covering; the later the less the 
covering, so they will get the heat of the sim at about the 
same time. Some nurserymen prefer to spread the seed 
evenly over the top of the bed and then spade them in. 
This method often makes trouble in separating them 
when ready to plant. 

20 



SPECIAL SEED BEDS 21 

Special Seed Beds. In the colder states where the 
winters are long and severe, seed beds are often used in 
place of the open ground. These are made in some shel- 
tered place in the open or in some building if desired. 
Coarse sand is placed in the bottom to secure good drain- 
age, then a layer of sand three or four inches deep on which 
the seeds are spread. These are then covered two or three 
inches deep with sand and allowed to remain through 
the winter. The seeds should be placed in these beds just 
before the ground freezes up for the winter (usually in 
November) . 

Care should be taken that the seed bed is placed where 
water will not stand on it during the winter lest the seed 
rot; also a Hght sandy loam is best, as the seeds are then 
easier to separate at planting time. There should be at 
least sufficient sand to prevent the soil from puddling and 
sticking to the seed. Several layers of seed and sand may 
be put together. This is often done by large companies to 
economize space. Under such conditions there is danger 
of the seed heating during the early stages of germina- 
tion, and they should be shoveled over several times to 
avoid it. Such a process could best be handled indoors. 

The seeds remain in these beds during the winter season 
where they absorb water and swell up sufficiently to crack 
the shell. When warm weather comes in the spring, sprouts 
begin to appear. During these early months the bed should 
be examined occasionally to determine the progress of ger- 
mination. For the large seed, when the first sprouts appear 
they should be dug up, removed to the nursery and dropped 
from two to four inches apart in furrows prepared for them. 



22 



GROWING THE SEEDLINGS 



Lath Houses. If something more elaborate than the 
above described seed bed be desired, or if a permanent bed 
for use with other seed as well is wanted one can be made 
after the model of the accompanying illustration, Fig. 7. 
Such houses are constructed of lath at a nominal cost and if 
properly built and painted, serve as an ornament to any 
place. They can also be used for growing cuttings and other 




Fig. 7. — A Lath Propagating House. 



seedhngs, as well as a cool place for many ornamental plants 
during the heat of the summer. 

Other Methods. Another method frequently employed 
is the use of sawdust or sphagnum moss. The seeds are 
thoroughly mixed with the sawdust or moss, shoveled into 
a barrel or box and set away in a damp place to 
sprout. This method requires greater care in keeping the 
right amount of moisture, but the results are quite as 
satisfactory. This does away with the use of any sand 



HANDLING SMALL SEED— USE OF PLANTERS 23 

and makes the seed more easy to move at planting 
time. 

Handling Small Seed. Many nursery companies prefer 
to stratify the small seed in the nursery row rather than use 
seed beds. Apple, pear and quince seeds may be ger- 
minated in this way, but there is always the uncertainty 
of the number that will grow. Where the per cent that 




Fig. 8. — A Southern Propagating House. 

will germinate is not known, the seed must either be put in 
very thick and then thinned out as they come up, or the 
gaps in the nursery row must be replanted in the spring. 
Another objection is that grass and weeds start as early 
in the spring as the seed and much fine work is necessary 
while the young plants are very small. 

Use of Planters. A few companies claim success by 
this method with large seeds like peach, plum and apricot, 



24 



GEOWING THE SEEDLINGS 



and no doubt the work is less expensive. Where the ger- 
minating power of the seed is fairly well known, this may be 
recommended. Under such conditions, the seed should be 
stratified for a short time early in the fall and then a special 
seed planter is used to drop the seed. This makes it neces-^ 
sary to buy the seed a year ahead of time since it is not 




Fig. 9. — A Peach-seed Planter and its Inventor, J. W. Romine, of 
Monroe, Mich. 



possible to coUect them early enough to stratify and plant 
the same season. 

The machines used to plant large seeds are of a special 
type, Fig. 9, and have given very good results wherever used. 
They drop two rows at once and have a capacity of about 
seventy-five bushels a day. The feed mechanism is adjust- 
able and can be regulated at will. This is important be- 



USE OF PLANTERS 25 

cause the poorer the seed the more will be needed to be 
planted to the foot. Where the seeds are stratified for 
several weeks before planting, the sprouting will have 
progress far enough so a mechanical test will give a fair 
estimate of the per cent that will germinate. This test 
is made by selecting at random one hundred seeds, splitting 
open the shell and examining the kernel. Those that are 
sound, plump and in good condition can be depended upon 
to grow. From these figures the per cent is calculated and 
the feed of the machine adjusted to give just the right 
number of good seeds to the foot of row. 

Large commercial companies which make a practice 
of growing seedhngs for the trade use the nursery row 
method altogether, as it is much more economical. The 
bulk of American grown apple seedlings are produced in 
Iowa and Kansas, where over eight hundred acres are 
annually devoted to this purpose. Mr. F. W. Watson of 
Topeka, Kan., gives the following method for growing 
apple seedlings on a large scale: 

" The bulk of the seed comes from France, packed in 
charcoal. As soon as received, it is run through a fanning 
mill to take out the charcoal, then put in sacks and soaked 
from five to seven days, the water being changed several 
times. It is then stored away in a cool place, until plant- 
ing time. If the weather happens to be cold so the seed 
can be frozen before planting time, so much the better. 
Seed that has been planted without having first been well 
soaked starts irregularly and often a large proportion will 
not sprout. At planting time the seed is spread out on 
long screens to partially dry so that it will pass through 



26 



GROWING THE SEEDLINGS 



w^^mi^jTfiT'''3w& 







<1 



r 

1 

d 
1—1 

d 



LARGE VS. SMALL SEED 27 

the drills froely. If the sun is hot and the seed becomes 
too dry, it will germinate slowly and sometimes it will 
fail to start at all and the crop is lost. As soon as the seed 
begins to sprout the cultivators are started. 

'' The drill used to sow the seed is a wheat drill remod- 
elled so as to sow four rows twenty-four inches apart, 
planting the seed three-quarters of an inch below the sur- 
face and covering with a ridge three inches high." 

" From eight to twelve good seeds are planted to the 
foot, from one to one and a half bushels to the acre." 

Large vs. Small Seed. Large seeds including most of 
the nuts and many of the stone fruits are very easy to 
handle through the seed beds and for small quantities 
this method is preferable. As the sprouts appear in the 
spring they are large and strong and can be moved with 
little danger of breaking. They will not all germinate 
at the same time and those that show no signs of swelling 
in the spring should be discarded. They are easy to 
separate from the sand in the seed bed, and should be 
dropped into a furrow in the nursery row from one to four 
inches apart according to what the future treatment is to 
be. No attention need be given to the position of the 
sprouts when planted. 

Small seeds Hke apples and pears will often germinate 
very early and may blight before the planter is aware. 
They will need to be moved very early to the nursery row 
or covered with more soil, shaded from the sun and allowed 
to grow in the seed bed. After the second pair of leaves 
appears they can be dug out and transferred to the nursery 
the same as any seedling. This process involves the hand- 



28 GEOWING THE SEEDLINGS 

ling of each plant individually, and where large numbers 
are grown makes the process very expensive, although ex- 
cellent results can be obtained in tliis manner. 

Shading. Where seeds are allowed to grow in the beds 
the little plantlets may be very sensitive to sunlight and 
will need to be protected. If the lath house previously 
referred to is used, this will be sufficient. Posts may be 
dug in along the beds and covered with lath, or white 
muslin may be stretched over the beds. If these are 
three or four feet above the ground results will be better. 
The farther south the nursery is located the more important 
the shading becomes. 

Summer Planting. Practically all fruit seed will ger- 
minate if planted during the summer, and for the small 
home nursery spring or summer planting may sometimes 
be desirable. Growth is not so rapid and this method often 
calls for an extra year in the nurserj^ The one difficulty 
of this plan is to keep the seed in good condition over the 
winter. They should be kept cool and moist and not 
exposed to rapid changes or extremes of temperature. 

Freezing Fruit Seed. The idea conamon in many 
places that hard shelled seeds must be frozen before they 
will germinate is quite erroneous. Often, freezing may 
hasten germination but is in no case necessary. Where 
cold is made use of in practice, the seeds should be covered 
with soil to prevent a too rapid fluctuation in temperature. 
If exposed to frost in the open air germination will be re- 
tarded, and if too severe will be prevented altogether. 
All kinds of hard-shelled seeds may be germinated readily 
in the greenhouse where no signs of frost have been. 



SOAKING FEUIT SEED— CRACKING HAED SEED 29 

Soaking Fruit Seed. Frequently germination may be 
hastened by soaking the seed in warm water for some time 
before planting. It is a process, however, not generally 
practiced except with imported seed, as it is attended with 
some risk. Where soaking is done the water ought to 
be kept near one hundred degrees Fahrenheit, and changed 
at least once each day. If the water is allowed to become 
stagnant, the seeds may be coated with a slime mold 
resulting in a rapid deterioration of germinating power. 
Twenty-four to forty-eight hours is usually enough for 
the smaller seed, while the large seed may be soaked from 
three to ten days. When removed from the water they 
should be planted immediately and not allowed to shrivel. 
Olive seed are sometimes helped in germinating by soaking 
for two days in a four per cent solution of caustic potash. 

Cracking Hard Seed. Most hard seeds may be cracked 
before planting to hasten germination. The embryo should 
not be removed from the shell but a crack made just large 
enough to allow moisture to enter. Many hard-shelled 
seeds require months to absorb sufficient moisture to 
force open the shell. The hammer should not be used to 
crack the seed, but a small vise in which each one may 
be tightened just enough to start an opening. 

Testing Seed. Much has been said about testing fruit 
seed before planting. The prevailing opinion among the 
best nursery growers is that the practice is not worth 
while. So many conditions enter in, so much time must 
be consumed in making the test, that results have seldom 
been satisfactory. Germinating tests made in green- 
houses or hot beds in the winter never correspond to the 



30 GEOWING THE SEEDLINGS 

results in the open ground, so are of little value as a 
guide. 

In buying seed for nursery work one should make every 
effort to get those of the current year's growth, and then 
by applying a number of mechanical tests a fairly accurate 
forecast can be made. Several seeds should be opened 
and the kernels examined with a lense. If it is plump, 
well developed, the surface showing few wrinkles and the 
embryo fresh, one can be reasonably sure of good seed. 
Good kernels of the stone fruits should not show a gummed 
condition. 

Viability of Fruit Seed. No very accurate experi- 
ments are available to show just how long seeds may be 
kept and still germinate. One can be reasonably sure that 
all the larger seeds when once thoroughly dried out will 
never germinate. When kept under best known condi- 
tions they may hold their vitality for a long time; in some 
cases as long as ten or fifteen years. 

Many nurserymen have commented upon the fact that 
the germinating qualities are widely variable from year 
to year. The year the seed is collected the per cent of 
germination should be high; the second year low; the third 
year high again and so on; the alternate years being either 
high or low in the per cent germinating. In the writer's 
own experience peach seeds have been known to germinate 
eighty-five per cent the first year, ten per cent the second, 
seventy-five the third; all from the same seed crop. These 
seeds were kept in a bag on an earthen floor in a damp 
but not wet cellar. 



REYIEW QUESTIONS 31 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 

1. What is stratification? Why necessary? 

2. Give the different methods of stratifying seed. 

3. Which ones are adapted to large nurseries and which to the 

use of the orchardist? 

4. Where are seed beds used? How made? 

5. When may lath houses be desirable? 

6. What fruit seed may be planted direct to the nursery row? 

7. When may seed planters be used? How do they work? 

8. Give method of handling apple seed on a large scale. 

9. Give details for handling large seed when planters are used. 

10. How are small seeds germinated when only a few are wanted? 

11. How are seedlings handled when allowed to grow in the seed 

bed? 

12. Discuss the value of shading for seed beds. 

13. How do fruit seeds behave when planted in the summer? 

14. Discuss the necessity of freezing hard seed. 

15. Discuss the value of soaking hard seed. 

16. What are the effects of cracking fruit seed? 

17. How are fruit seeds tested? 

18. Discuss the viability of fruit seed. 



CHAPTER III 

THE NURSERY 

General Considerations. The work of producing nur- 
sery stock is usually considered as a business independent of 
that of fruit growing, and in most cases is justly so treated. 
The handling of a large nursery requires as much skill and 
business ability as the handling of any other enterprise. 
The novice or small fruit grower is usually no better quali- 
fied to grow his own nursery stock than he would be to make 
his own machinery. On the other hand some knowledge 
of the principles of the business is essential even though 
the hands have not been trained in the details. 

Most nurseries have their limitations due to the vari- 
ous economic principles involved, and to the abihty of 
the management; and it has frequently happened that an 
individual grower having some knowledge of the business 
and a large amount of enthusiasm, often produces better 
results than the nurseryman. Such people should grow 
their own stock, but the average fruit grower having but 
a few acres of orchard along with general farming can usually 
do better by buying nursery stock of some reliable company. 
There are, however, in every fruit-growing section orchard- 
ists who devote their major efforts to the production of 
fruits, and find it to their advantage to grow their own stock. 

It is no longer easy to start a nursery business on a 

32 



POINTS ON LOCATION 33 

large scale, hence the beginner will need to investigate 
carefully before locating his place. The opportunities 
are still great but it is constantly requiring more and more 
skill for the manager of a nursery company to be success- 
ful. Competition is getting greater every year and the 
margin of profit for most of the .plants grown is gradually 
getting smaller. The amount of capital invested is in- 
creasing from year to year, and while it is possible for any 
one to start a nursery on a limited capital, it is almost 
imperative that good, strong financial backing, to the 
extent of several thousand dollars, be had before one can 
be assured of success. 

Points on Location. The individual looking for a place 
to locate a general nursery will need to consider the follow- 
ing conditions: First, he must have climatic conditions 
which will be suitable for the growing of a large variety 
of nursery stock. Second, that few companies are able 
to grow all of their stock in any one location, some of them 
being spread over a half dozen states. Third, he should 
give careful attention to soil conditions. Nurseries located 
on side hill or rolling land are not usually favorable 
to best results. More or less level land is necessary and 
that which is easily workable throughout the greater part 
of the year. The soil ought to be deep, well drained, with 
a strong rich sub-soil easy to maintain in fertility require- 
ments. Fourth, shipping conveniences, railroad facih- 
ties, etc., should always be considered. As much of the 
stock has to be shipped long distances, the better the loca- 
tion for shipping facilities, the more favorable will be the 
prospects. Fifth, he should give considerable attention 



34 THE NURSERY 

to the surrounding environments. Our best nurseries 
are located in the best fruit producing sections, and usually 
in those which are the most progressive. It is not the 
purpose of the nurserymen to educate the people to buy 
certain kinds of stock, but simply to grow and furnish 
the people what they want, hence a location in a poor 
fruit-producing section would be contrary to the first 
principles of economics. We therefore find, that our largest 
and best nursery companies are located in the chief centers 
of production, and usually in the most progressive and 
desirable points in those centers. Accordingly the finan- 
cial returns and the success of the business follows as a 
sequent. 

The bulk of the capital invested in nurseries lies in the 
central or more thickly populated parts of the United States. 
This is largely because the demand of the surrounding 
territories calls for their particular kind of fruit; also, 
partly to the fact that nursery companies located farther 
south or north could not supply all the different kinds of 
materials required by the orchardists. 

Small Nursery Plats. Anyone contemplating going 
into the nursery business as a special line or on a large 
scale would find it advisable to take an apprenticeship 
course with some of the larger companies. There are 
plenty of opportunities for learning the ways of big nur- 
series through the numerous companies now in existence. 
The only requisite for such an apprenticeship is a willing- 
ness to work and a strong desire to know how things are 
done. Nurserymen are always wilhng to have such men 
around, and the willingness of the companies to retain such 



NURSERY SITE 35 

men on their pay roll can be taken as a fair indication 
of the ability of the individual to branch out in the work 
for himself. 

It is always possible for the individual to get into the 
work on a small scale and grow as his ability and capital 
warrants. It is true that most of our large companies 
started in this way, and while times and conditions have 
changed some opportunities are still left. 

It would seem best in this connection to discuss more 
in detail the various operations applicable to the small 
nursery for the benefit of those who may wish to go into 
the work as a side line of general horticulture, or for those 
who are just starting a nursery for the first time. It is 
quite generally recommended that every orchardist or horti- 
culturist grow some nursery stock in connection with his 
business even though it be only for experimental pur- 
poses. Not only would he grow the fruits which are stand- 
ard for the purpose of maintaining his orchard but also 
there should be a place for experimenting with new varie- 
ties, novelties, etc. The beginner, under such conditions 
will not need to pay so much attention to the general 
environments or surroundings as the one who is in the busi- 
ness on a large scale, but he will need to give considerable 
thought to the selection of his plat for the various nursery 
operations, and should also understand the details of all 
the general practices. 

Nursery Site. In many cases the beginner will be 
handicapped because of the lack of suitable conditions 
under which to start his nursery. However, the area 
needed is not large and almost every fruit farm will con- 



36 THE NURSERY 

tain some small place that can be used. Among the things 
to look for and consider might be mentioned the following: 
The condition of the soil, ease of drainage or irrigation, 
protection from winds or snow in the winter, convenience 
in handling the work and protection from the various 
domestic animals which may be kept on the place. 

Soil Requirements. On almost every fruit farm there 
is some place where the soil conditions ought to be satis- 
factory. The best soil would be a medium sandy loam 
with a depth of three or four feet for deep root penetration. 
If the under soil is too hard, the roots of the seedlings will 
branch too much and becoire crooked. If it is too loose 
it will be hard to maintain fertility and get the proper 
growth. A little clay mixed with the under soil sufficient 
to get a branching root system would be ideal. The top 
soil should contain enough sand so that it will be easily 
workable and will not puddle after rains or storms. If 
the siu"face soil is heavy enough to form a crust after each 
rain, it will be difficult to give sufficient cultivation, and 
also the young seedlings will have trouble in pushing 
through to the surface. A garden loam which is in good 
cultivation and well cared for would do well for a small 
nursery plat. Many streams or creeks have places along 
their courses with unusually rich soil which will make 
ideal conditions for nursery trees. Such places should 
of course be above the high water mark. 

Drainage. The nursery plat should be well drained. 
Water should not stand over the surface during the winter 
and the subsoil ought to drain off readily in the spring down 
to a depth of at least three feet. This is necessary to se- 



PEOTECTION FROM WIND AND SNOW 



37 



cure good root action in the spring. If water stands above 
this level the roots will not penetrate into it. Where con- 
ditions are such that a dry season occurring during the 
summer or fall is liable to affect the growth of the seedlings, 
then if irrigation could be provided for, so much the better. 
In the eastern and northern states the so-called " Skinner 
System," Fig. 11, of irrigation has been found to be highly 




Fig. 11. — The Skinner System of Irrigation. 

efficient in helping to produce good growth. In the south 
and west, the ordinary methods of irrigation where ditches 
are used to convey the water between the rows is the com- 
mon practice. 

Protection from Wind and Snow. In the northern 
or colder part of the United States, some thought should 
be given to protection for the nursery plat during the 
winter months. A few large trees along one side of the 



38 



THE NURSERY 



nursery or other natural protections such as buildings, 
low hills or woodlots is desirable. The protected side of 
a good orchard would be sufficient in most cases. Such 
protected places are frequently troubled by the accumu- 
lation of large drifts of snow. Wherever the velocity of 
the wind is checked the snow tends to pile up. Such condi- 
tions should be guarded against by leaving about fifty 




Fig. 12. — A Maine Nursery with Good Natural Protection. 



feet of open space between the barrier and the first of the 
nursery planting. Every orchardist should be familiar 
enough with his own place to Imow where such drifts 
accumulate and where open though protected places can 
be found. 

Protection from Animals. The nursery should be well 
protected against the intrusion of any domestic animals 
which may be kept in the vicinity of the plat. Small 



SIZE AND PREPARATION OF THE PLAT 39 

nurseries can be damaged beyond repair in a very short 
time by the intrusion of one horse or cow, and this often 
discourages the orchardist to attempt any serious opera- 
tions. Interest can be maintained only where conditions 
can be controlled. High wire fences built to keep out 
all intruders (even poultry) are essential to the success 
of the small nursery. If, in addition to the above, the 
plat could be located near the residence more interest 
would be taken. 

Size of the Plat. This will depend entirely upon cir- 
cumstances. The average orchardist who may have thirty 
or forty acres of fruit will need only a very small tract. 
One acre in nursery trees will run from j&ve thousand to 
eight thousand plants. Ordinarily a small piece of land 
thirty or forty feet wide and fifty long will accommodate 
a large number of nursery trees. If the intention is to 
grow some for sale, the size could be increased to suit 
the needs of the individual. The beginner often makes the 
mistake of attempting too large a tract for his first efforts. 

Preparation of the Plat. For best results this ought 
to be done in the fall. A good coat of barnyard manure 
or compost should be applied late in the fall and plowed 
under, turning the furrows to a depth of eight or nine 
inches. If the sub-soil is inchned to be hard the use of a 
sub-soiler will help materially. The ground should be 
levelled off, smoothed down and any uneven places filled 
up. If the plot has been neglected for several years and 
grown up to grasses that are hard to eradicate or is full 
of foul weeds, one season's summer-fallow would be ad- 
visable. Good nursery trees can only be grown where 



40 THE NUESERY 

the best culture is given and numerous weeds always add 
to the expense and difficulty of cultivation. 

The rows should be laid out the long way so as to make 
use of horse cultivation wherever possible. If too much 
is left for handwork, the probabilities are that it will be 
neglected; and many efforts have failed purely because 
too little was done by team work and too much left for the 
hands. If the plat could be so arranged that the rows 
might run one hundred feet in length, even though they 
were only four or five rows wide, the results would be better 
in the end. 

Planting. The work of planting the seeds will depend 
entirely on whether the seeds are stratified in sefed beds or 
whether planted direct to the nursery row. With apple, 
pear and quince seed, better results could probably be 
had by planting direct to the nursery row in the spring. If 
the seed is clean, a furrow should be made about three inches 
deep and the seeds scattered along in these and covered up, 
leaving a little ridge two or three inches high where the 
row was. The larger seeds where stratified in the seed 
bed should be moved to similar rows early in the spring. 
Or they may be left to come up in the seed bed and trans- 
planted to the nursery row after the second pair of leaves 
appear. In such cases they would be planted three or 
four inches apart in the row. The rows should be suf- 
ficiently wide, three feet is the common width, to permit 
the use of horse cultivators. 

Setting out Imported Seedlings. If the seedlings are 
purchased from other sources and are grown simply for the 
purpose of budding or grafting, then the planting should be 



SETTING OUT IMPORTED SEEDLINGS 



41 



changed slightly. A furrow six or eight inches deep is made 
by a special plow, Fig. 13, or may be dug by hand. The roots 
of the seedlings are cut back leaving five or six inches below 
the ground line. These are then set in the furrows about 
six inches apart and the soil pulled in and pressed around 
the roots. A dibber or small hand hoe is used for this pur- 




FiG. 13. — A Trencher for Making Furrows for Seedlings. 



pose. A cultivator with a special attachment for filhng 
the remainder of the ditch and firming the soil around 
the roots is then run over the rows, which completes the 
process. This same method is also used in setting out 
apple root grafts in the spring. The customary practice 
is to root graft the apple before planting and set pears as 
seedlings to be budded through the summer. The setting 



42 



THE NURSERY 



out process is essentially the same except that the grafts 
must be handled with more care. Where apples are budded 
the treatment would be the same as for pears. 

If only a few seedhngs are to be planted the dibble 
and a line to get straight rows, would be sufficient. If 
the ground is in good, mellow condition the work can be 





.#^^ 




^*i 


..^^^riitt^A' •^'" ■ - ^s 


I^Hfe^ 






MMflKM^l 


wflH^ 


■ 


Hj^ 


^^^^^^^^^laH 


InliimF 


^ 


^m 


^^^^^^H; a*^! 


HiMl^^S?^LL3''wt 




^H 




^H^^BhBHHHH| 


h'^'- 


--'-SI 




^H^^^^ 


m 


1 


^^^^^H^^inaaiH^ 




: ,«« -; - 


m^ 



Fig. 14. — A Firmer Used in Packing the Soil Around the Planted 

Seedlings. 



done quite rapidly. The operator crawls along the line 
on his knees, makes the holes and sets the plants as he 
goes. 

Cultural Methods. As soon as the seeds begin to 
sprout in the spring or growth starts on the seedlings, culti- 
vation should commence. Where ridges were left over the 
seed-rows, these should be raked off very carefully, Fig. 15, 



CULTURAL METHODS, 



43 




o 

m 
I 



44 



THE NURSERY 




.S 



o 



CULTUEAL METHODS 



45 



the object being to remove the weeds, grass, etc., which 
may be growing on the row, and also give the httle seedhngs 
a better chance to get through to the surface. From this 
time on clean culture should be given; all weeds in the row 
kept out by hand hoeing and the soil stirred with a horse 





♦ 






i^j^S 4 jitej 


mm 


HHIIV!^^^^~~"'^^9 


^^JP^fegJli^^P; 






^^^^^^^wmmaiLLm^^^ 





Fig. 17. — Firming the Ground after Cultivating. 



cultivator once every fveek or ten days throughout the sea- 
son. As about one-third of the average nursery is in 
seedlings considerable hand labor is necessary. 

If the soil is deficient in fertility the addition of com- 
post or commercial fertiHzers may be necessary. If there 
is not sufficient rainfall to maintain a good growth through- 



46 THE NUKSERY 

out the season, the addition of water may be required. The 
seedhngs should make a steady growth and not be checked 
for the lack of moisture. 

Spraying. It will hardly be possible to grow good 
seedlings without suffering from the effects of insects or 
fungus diseases. It is usually necessary to spray nursery 
stock from one to three times during the growing season. 
Early in the season bordeaux mixture or lime sulphur can 
be used, and later, if necessary, arsenate of lead may be 
included with the others. The same strength of sprays 
is used as for older trees. Often the apple aphis will appear 
and in such cases they should be sprayed with tobacco 
extract. If the spraying is carefully attended to, the seed- 
hngs should grow to a height of from two to three feet the 
first year, and have a diameter sufficient to either bud or 
graft as the case may be. 

Fall Treatment of Seedlings. If the seedlings are 
grown to sell as such, they are dug up in the fall and given 
a special treatment. Where they are to be used for propa- 
gation, only those that are to be grafted are dug, the others 
remaining as they are until ready to be used as a nursery 
tree. The apple is the only fruit that is root-grafted to 
any considerable extent, and the fall treatment for such 
seedlings is best described by F. W. Watson of Topeka, 
Kansas, who says: 

" We use a digger similar to a tree digger, excepting 
in width; it is only ten inches wide. Seedlings are cut 
at a depth of sixteen inches. The pullers follow the digger 
closely, pulling, bunching, tying and burying the seedlings 
in a deep furrow in the field; Fig. 18. Only a few minutes 



FALL TREATMENT OF SEEDLINGS 



47 



elapse between the time the digger passes under the seed- 
Hngs until they are pulled, buried and covered, tops and 
all. If the pullers do not follow closely to the digger, 
and the seedlings should stand for an hour or so in the 
hot sun or a high wind after cutting, they will become 




Fig. 18. — Burying Apple Seedlings to Remove Leaves. 



soft and willowy, with a tendency to die back at the tip, 
showing their loss of vitality. 

" After seedHngs have been buried in the field for fifteen 
or twenty days, the leaves begin to drop off, and it is then 
safe to take them up and haul them to the grading cellar. 
Here they are buried in beds in a convenient place near 
to where they are to be graded. In these beds the bunches 
stand upright, they are wet when put in, and covered with 



48 



THE NUESERY 




FALL TEEATMENT OF SEEDLINGS 



49 



dirt until only an occasional top is exposed, then a cover 
of manure or leaves is spread and they are left in this way 
for several weeks in order to sweat the balance of the 
leaves off before grading. Here is our last danger point — 
if a heavy rain or a late warm spell should come, the bed 



'. . ■ ' 


4 









Fig, 20. — Storage Cellar in which Apple Seedlings are Handled. 



is liable to heat and the entire crop may burn up. There 
is no sure preventive against burning, but by using a liberal 
quantity of dirt between the layers when the seedlings 
are trenched-in the liability may be lessened. 

" Grading begins about December the first, in cellars (Fig. 
.20) built for this purpose. Seedhngs are hauled in from the 
beds, run over the ' Shaker ' to get out the leaves and dirt 




Fig. 21.— Apple Seedlings. No. 1 Straight. 
50 




Fig. 22.— Apple Seedlings, No. 2 Straight. 
51 



52 THE NUESEEY 

from the bunches, and placed upon the benches, where 
each man takes out his particular grade. Several will 
take out No. 1 straight, and pile what are left on another 
bench. Here the next grade, No. 1 branched, are separated, 
and so on, passing from bench to bench until all the dif- 
ferent grades have been taken out. Each man continues 
on the same grade during the grading season. As soon as 
graded the seedhngs are tied in bunches and go through a 
trap door to the storage cellars, where the packing and ship- 
ping is done. 

Grades of Seedlings. '' An ideal No. 1 straight (Fig. 21) 
apple seedling is one that is fourteen to sixteen inches long, is 
at least three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter at the collar 
and three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter seven inches 
below the collar, and continued straight between the two 
points. An ideal No. 2 seedling (Fig. 22) is one that is twelve 
inches long, is at least two-sixteenths of an inch in diameter 
at the collar and is two-sixteenths of an inch in diameter 
seven inches below the collar and continues straight be- 
tween these two points. An ideal No. 1 branched seedling 
(Fig. 23) is one that is at least three-sixteenths of an inch 
in diameter at the collar and has three or more roots, well 
distributed, not exceeding three and one-half inches below 
the collar. A No. 3 seedling is one that is two-sixteenths of 
an inch in diameter at the collar but fails to carry its diam- 
eter of two-sixteenths far enough down to grade No. 2; 
it is sometimes branched. 

" A peculiar thing about the growing of apple seedlings 
is the fact that they cannot be grown with profit in small 
quantities. If a firm uses only 100,000 to 300,000 in a 



GEADES OF SEEDLINGS 



53 



season, it is economical to buy rather than to grow them. 
There is no profit ordinarily in growing as small a lot as 




Fig. 23. — Apple Seedlings, No. 1 Branched. 



five acres. This condition arises from the fact that to 
properly handle the seedlings it takes special tools, drills. 



54 THE NUESEEY 

cultivators, diggers, cellars, all expensive equipment that 
can be used for no other purpose. 

'' The result is that the growing of all the twenty to 
forty millions of American grown apple seedhngs that are 
used in this country every year is undertaken by less than 
a dozen firms." 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 

1. What are the present-day opportunities to develop a large 

nursery business and what should the beginner do? 

2. What are the essential considerations m choosmg a nursery 

site? 

3. What place should the small nursery occupy in connection 

with orcharding? 

4. Discuss the soil requirements for the small nursery plat. 

5. What should be the practice in regard to irrigation and draiii- 

age? 

6. Discuss the importance of protection of the plat from wind, 

snow, animals, ete. 

7. How much land would the beginner or the orchardist need for 

nursery work? 

8. W^hat is necessary in the preparation of the plat? 

9. How would the seed be handled for the small plat? 

10. How are imported seedlings handled? 

11. What treatment is necessary in the summer culture of the 

plat? 

12. Discuss spraying ia connection v/ith the growing of seedlings. 

13. What is the usual fall treatment for seedlings? 

14. How are apple seedlings handled on a large scale? 

15. What are the standard grades for apple seedlings? 



CHAPTER IV 
THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 

Budding or Grafting. In working over nursery stock 
to standard varieties two methods are available: One to 
graft, the other to bud. These two methods do not differ 
widely in principle but the details of execution are mate- 
rially unhke. In the first place the process of budding 
is always associated with the active growing plant while 
grafting must be done while the trees are dormant. In 
the former, a single bud with some of the closely surround- 
ing bark tissue is used to start the new tree while in the 
latter two or more buds with their connecting internodes 
are used. In grafting, the piece bearing the buds is called 
the cion while the plant into which it is set is called the stock. 

Whether nurserymen should bud or graft the major 
part of their stock would depend upon the ease and economy 
with which the work could be done rather than upon any 
scientific principles involved. Either method will produce 
equally good trees. The cost of production, however, 
varies widely and as would be expected the practice among 
nurserymen throughout the United States is the outgrowth 
of certain economic conditions made necessary in the adjust- 
ing of their work to local environments. 

Certain practices have become quite generally estab- 
lished over a considerable part of the country, while others 

55 



56 THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 

due to peculiar climatic conditions or to the length of the 
growing season are widely variable. It is the practice 
among nursery companies of the southern and western 
states to bud practically all of the stone fruits while the apple 
and in some cases the pear and the various nuts are grafted. 
In the central states the apple is the chief fruit grafted, all 
others being more easily budded. In the colder parts of 
the United States the practice is to bud almost everything. 
The only wide difference between the eastern and western 
states is the method used on the nut fruits. In the more 
arid regions of the west grafting is preferred, while in the 
humid conditions of the south and east budding is the usual 
practice. 

Most growers agree that the budding operations are 
cheaper and come at a time of the year when it is easier 
to do the work, also some time is saved in the number of 
years required to grow good nursery trees. The stone 
fruits make a very rapid growth, are relatively short-lived 
and adaptable to a wide area. The pome fruits grow more 
slowly, and more care and expense is necessary to pro- 
duce a first-class nursery tree. The various citrus fruits 
are still more difficult to grow and can only be handled 
successfully in a few of the warmer places of the United 
States. The hardest of all nursery trees to grow are the 
nut fruits. This is in part due to the fact that nuts have 
not been propagated for a very long time and the best 
methods of handling them have not been worked out. 

The Prevailing Practice. If any general classification 
of the modern methods of nursery propagation were possible, 
the following would represent a fair average condition: 



THE BUDDING OPERATIONS 



57 



Fruit 

Almonds 

Apricots 

Apples 

Avocadros 

Cherries 

Dates 

Figs 

Grapes 

Kumquats 

Lemons 

Limes 

Loquats 

Mandarins 

Mangos 

Mulberries 

Oranges 

Olives 

Peaches 

Pears 

Pecans 

Plums 

Persimmons 

Pomelos 

Prunes 

Quinces 

Walnuts 



Budding 


Grafting 
























t 



















































































Cuttings 



* The usual method. 
fMay be used. 



§ Occasionally used. 
JNot practicable. 



The Budding Operations. The process of budding 
consists of cutting a dormant bud from a tree which grows 
the desired fruit and inserting it under the bark of the 
tree on which it is to be grown. There are many points 
to consider in the handhng of the buds and in the select- 
ing of the best kinds. Considerable skill is necessary in 
the cutting of the bud as well as in the process of setting 



58 



THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 



and tying. The work is done in the nursery row and can 
best be handled by two people; one to cut and place the 
buds, and one to follow with the tying. The various steps 
in the process of budding may be classified as follows: 




Fig. 24.— Standard Types of Budding Knives. 



1. Stripping the seedhngs. 

3. Inserting the bud. 

5. Loosening the ties. 

7. Sprouting. 



2. Cutting the buds. 
4. Tying up. 
6. Cutting back. 



Tools for Budding. Very few tools are required for the 
work of budding. The essentials are a good sharp knife 
and some material for tying the buds. There are numerous 



STRIPPING THE SEEDLINGS 



59 



makes of knives on the market, but any one of the three 
shown in the accompanying illustration (Fig. 24) will answer. 
A and B are the common ones while C, an imported one, 
may be used for both budding and grafting. For the wrap- 
ping, two different materials are available; a soft cotton 




Fig. 25. — Peach Seedlings, the Right Size for Stripping. 



string and raffia. The latter is a fiber from one of the 
fan palms and makes a very desirable tie. The strands 
are thin and flat, making it easy to cover the bud. 

Stripping the Seedlings. The first process in the 
actual work of budding is to '' strip " the young seed- 
lings. This is done by removing the leaves from the 
first three or four inches next to the ground, about the time 



60 



THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 



the seedling reaches the height of eight or ten inches. The 
object of this is to have a clear, smooth place for the budder 
to work. If the bottom leaves are not removed they soon 
develop into small branches which by fall, often seriously 
interfere with the budding process. The stripping is accom- 
plished in the manner illustrated in the accompanying 
picture, Fig. 26. The tree is held by the left hand while the 




Fig. 26. — Stripping the Young Seedlings. 



thumb and two first fingers are slid down to the bottom, 
removing the lower leaves at one stroke. The scars left by 
the leaves heal over in a few weeks and by the time the 
young trees have attained a diameter of one-quarter inch 
they are ready for the budder. 

Kinds of Budding. There are many different names 
applied to the various budding operations, but four have 
become more or less general and are here accepted as the 



JUNE BUDDING AND DOEMANT BUDDING 61 

ones best suited to the different processes. These may be 
hsted as: June Budding, Dormant Budding, Twig Budding 
and Bark Budding. The first two are sometimes hsted as 
" Shield Budding " and are used almost entirely on the 
common deciduous fruits. Twig Budding is used on the 
evergreen fruit trees such as the olive, loquat, avocadro 
and sometimes on the citrus fruits. Bark Budding is 
adaptable to those fruit trees which have an unusually 
thick bark, such as the walnuts, pecans, figs, etc. This 
process varies considerably in detail and is sometimes 
known as " Flute," '^Ring,'' ''Chip," or '' Bark " budding. 
The last named seems to fit all the conditions and is there- 
fore selected as the best name. 

June Budding and Dormant Budding. These do not 
differ in so far as the inserting of the bud is concerned, 
but the time of insertion and the subsequent handling 
differ considerably. The June bud, as the name implies, 
is put in early in the season and an attempt is made to 
force it into growth the same year; while with the dormant 
bud, the insertion is made later in the season, and the 
efforts are directed toward keeping it dormant until the 
following spring. In the June bud, an attempt is made to 
produce a nursery tree from seed in one year, while with 
the Dormant bud two or more years are required. The 
former can only be accomplished in the more temperate 
climates where the trees have a long growing season and 
where the young buds can grow late into the fall without 
frost injury to the tender shoots. Even then, only the 
rapid growing plants like the peach or the almond can be 
successfully treated. All through the south and the south- 



62 THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 




Fig. 27.— Making the " T " Cut for the Bud. 




Fig. 28.— Cutting the Buds. 



INSERTING THE BUD 



63 



west dormant budding is the prevailing custom, although 
many nursery companies list June buds as a part of their 
regular stock. 

Inserting the Bud. The process of inserting the bud 
can best be understood by referring to the accompanying 




Fig. 29. — Inserting the Bud. 



photographs (Figs. 27, 28 and 29). The budder kneels 
on the ground, bends the tree over and places it between 
his left arm and his body, selects a smooth place on the 
bark, from one to two inches above the ground, and with 
two strokes of the knife makes a T-shaped cut and slips 
in the bud. In regular nursery practice the budder does 



64 THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPEBATIONS 

not do his own tying, but is followed by a boy who snugly 
wraps the bud with either cord or raffia. This should be 
done immediately after the bud is inserted and the wraps 
should be tight enough so the bud will be held firmly in 
place and cannot dry out. The tie should be so made 
that the growing point of the bud will not be covered. 
It is usually best to place all the buds on one side of the 
plant and away from the sun as much as possible. This 
will help to prevent a possible injury from sun scald during 
the winter. In some of the more arid regions of the west^ 
it is necessary to cover the tie with wax as an additional 
precaution against drying. 

After Treatment. If the intention is to produce a 
June bud; four or five inches are cut off the top of the plant 
as soon as the bud is in place. If a dormant bud is desired, 
no pruning will be necessary until the following spring. 
About ten days or two weeks after the buds have been 
set, the trees should be gone over and the bands cut to pre- 
vent them from drawing into the bark by the growth of the 
tree. To produce successful June buds the trees have to 
be gone over three or four times during the season and a 
portion of the top cut off. This removing of the top forces 
the bud from below and by the time it reaches one or two 
inches the entire top can be cut close down to the bud so 
that the young shoot will take all the sap. If the work 
has been properly done the young shoots ought to be 
eighteen inches or two feet by fall. 

For Dormant budding the work can be done any time 
the bark will peel well, from July until late in the fall. It 
is necessary to go over the trees and loosen the ties, but no 



AFTER TREATMENT 



65 



cutting back is done until the following spring. Occasion- 
ally; the buds put in early will start the same year but this 
only happens in the south where the winters are not severe 
enough to cause much injury. In the spring as soon as 
growth starts the trees are gone over and cut back to 




Fig. 30. — Peach Budded on Almond. One Dormant — One Growing. 



just above the bud. As growth starts slowly in the spring, 
the bud is able to carry all the sap and ought to make a 
rapid growth throughout the summer, producing a tree 
from five to seven feet tall in the southern states and from 
three to five in the northern. The more rapid growing 
kinds of fruit will make a desirable nursery tree in one 



66 



THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 



year from bud while the slower growing ones will require 
two, and in a very few cases, three. 

Budding Practice in Large Nurseries. Nursery com- 
panies that have to bud a good many thousand trees an- 
nually have to work out a very careful system in handUng 




Fig. 31. — Budders and Wrappers in Greenings' Nursery. Munroe, 

Mich. 



the work in order to keep the varieties from getting mixed. 
The usual method in such cases is to divide the work up 
into numerous divisions and let one person continue on the 
same operation throughout the season. The one who 
cuts buds will do nothing else; the budders do the budding 
only; the tyers nothing but tying and so on. Only one 
variety is budded at a time, and before a new one is started 



TWIG BUDDING 



67 



all the left-over buds are disposed of, and the ones budded 
are located on a permanent map. 

Hundreds of men are often employed in a single nur- 
sery and it is not strange that mistakes occur. The ability 
of the management to keep varieties true to name is the 
greatest factor in the success of the business. 

Twig Budding. Many times it is desirable to bud 
when no dormant buds are available. When growth starts 




FxG. 32. — Twig Bud. If Leaf Area is too Large it Should be Cut Back. 

in the spring all the winter buds grow out and two to three 
months must elapse before others form suitable for propa- 
gation. During this period twig budding may be done. 
The process is better adapted to the evergreen fruits, such 
as the olive and citrus fruits, but may be used as well on 
the deciduous kinds. 

In budding, a growing shoot having but two or three 
small leaves is selected, cut from the branch the same as 
the dormant bud and inserted in the same manner. The 



68 THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 

cut should be made deep, and a part of the wood on the 
underside removed so that the bark on the bud will fit 
close to the wood of the stock and a larger cambium con- 
tact made. The fingers should never touch the cambium 
layers of either stock or bud as the oil from the hands is 
sure to prevent their growth. The insertion should be 
made very quickly to prevent wilting of the little leaflets, 
and then tied in the same manner as for the other buds. 
If narrow strips of waxed cloth be used in place of raffia, 
results will be better as there is less danger of drying. 

After three or four weeks, or as soon as the bud '^ takes," 
the wrapping should be removed and part of the top cut 
away to increase the flow of sap to the young shoot. If 
the forcing is too much the bud may be flooded and the 
work lost. As the season advances more of the top can be 
removed, a little at a time, until the bud can take all of the 
sap. The stock is then cut off just above the bud making 
a close, smooth scar which will soon heal over. This 
method is too tedious for commercial practice and is best 
adapted to the working over of young trees or in adding 
new branches where the shape of the tree is to be corrected. 

Bark Budding. This represents a type of propagation 
that has been in use for a long time but only in recent 
years has become of general importance. It is best 
adapted to thick-barked trees such as flgs, walnuts, pecans, 
etc. All of these kinds of fruit trees are much more dif- 
ficult to bud than the common ones and even under the 
present best known methods it is difficult to get a high 
per cent to '^ take." The bark is too thick for the common 
budding methods to work successfully, hence bark budding 



BAEK BUDDING 



69 



has recently become the popular method for propagating 
these kinds of fruit. 

The work is performed by removing a piece of bark, 
about one inch square, from the stock and inserting into 
the place a patch of equal size. This patch is cut from 
a twig of the tree of the desired variety and should contain 




Fig. 33. — Special Knife for Cutting Bark Buds. 



a good dormant bud in the center. The work has to be 
done carefully and the inserted piece must fit perfectly. 
The work can best be done in the spring just as the buds 
are starting to swell, or delayed until fall when good dor- 
mant buds can be had. If done in the spring they should 
be forced into growth the same year^ while fall work should 
remain dormant until the following spring. 



70 THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 

Where very much bark budding is done a special knife 
(Fig. 33) for cutting the exact size of the patch is necessary. 
This can be made by fastening two thin steel knife blades to a 
block of wood so that two parallel cuts can be made at one 
time. Such a tool when drawn horizontally across the bark 
and then vertically, will cut a square patch the desired 




Fig. 34.— Tying up the Bud. 

size. If the blades are set about one inch apart, the patch 
will be one inch square which will be large enough for 
most work. The same knife can be used in cutting the buds 
bydrawing it around the twig. After the patch contain- 
ing the bud is removed the sides can be trimmed to secure 
a perfect fit. 

In performing the operation, the patch is first removed 
from the stock and then the bud cut from the cion. The 



BARK BUDDING 



71 



two operations should be done as close together as pos- 
sible. Most of the thick-barked trees contain some organic 
acid in their bark which will oxidize on exposure to the 
air. Where too long a time elapses between the cutting 




Fig. 35.— a Bud which Has Set and the Tie Removed. 



of the patch and the insertion of the bud the exposure to the 
air tends to inhibit the callusing of the union. It is 
also important that the fingers should not come in con- 
tact with the dehcate cambium. A little oil or dirt from 
the fingers will prevent the buds from setting. At the 
very best the process is slow and expensive and only very 



72 THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 

careful work will result in a high per cent of successful 
ones. 

After Treatment. When the bud is in place it should 
be tied firmly with rafha or waxed cloth. If raffia is used 
it should be waxed over to exclude the air and prevent 
the union from drying out. Many workers prefer the 
waxed cloth. A strip of cotton cloth is dipped in hot 
grafting wax and, after drying, is cut into strips about 
one inch wide. These strips serve the double purpose of 
holding the bud in position and excluding the air. The 
point of the bud from which the growth will come should 
not be covered with the ties although no harm will result 
from a light coating of wax. 

After three to five weeks the patch will have grown fast 
to the stock, Fig. 35. The subsequent treatment will then 
depend upon the time the work was done. If budded in the 
spring part of the top above the bud should be cut back in 
order to force growth the same year. As the bud develops, 
more of the top should be cut back until by' the time the new 
growth is five or six inches long all of the tree or branch 
above the bud can be removed. The first cutting back 
should not be done until the bud has set. If the work is 
done in the late summer no cutting back should be done 
until the next spring when the treatment should be the 
same as for dormant budding. 

Summer Culture of Budded Stock. The cultivation 
and care of the budded stock does not differ in any essen- 
tial from that of the seedlings. They should be cultivated 
regularly and ought to maintain a steady growth through- 
out the summer. Fertilizers should be used with caution 



SUMMER CULTURE OF BUDDED STOCK 73 



^Vv. I .' 




Fig. 36.— Large Pecan Tree Top Worked by Bark Budding. 



74 THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 

as too much nitrogen will force too heavy a growth, and 
the wood will not mature well in the fall. A succulent 
over-sized tree is never as good for orchard planting as a 
stocky medium-sized one. 

Sprouting. The heading back of the seedlings to 
force the bud will also start numerous sprouts on the stock. 
These are allowed to develop with the bud until mid-sum- 
mer when the trees are gone over and the sprouts removed. 
This process calls for considerable experience and the novice 
is apt to pull off the wrong sprout. In most cases, the dif- 
ferences in the foliage of the good bud and of the sprouts, 
will be marked enough so that it will be easy to distinguish 
them. In some cases, where almonds are budded on 
bitter almond stock or peaches on peach stock, the similar- 
ity is so great that the only sure way is to examine the place 
where the bud was inserted. The sprouter has to crawl 
along the rows on his hands and knees, separate the unde- 
sirable sprouts and strip them off by hand. Sometimes 
the process has to be repeated, but usually once is enough. 

Selecting Buds. Good buds are vital to the success 
of the nursery. They are not difficult to secure but should 
be selected with considerable care. The work of collect- 
ing buds should be left to one man who is well versed in 
the knowledge of buds from the various kinds of fruit. 
He should be able to distinguish a leaf bud from a fruit 
bud. He ought to know on what wood the fruit or flower 
buds are born, whether they come singly, in pairs or in 
threes; whether they developed on the current year's 
wood or on one or two years' old growth. 

The almond, the peach, the apricot and all the rest of 



SELECTING BUDS 75 

the Prunus group, bear their fruit on one-year old wood. 
Therefore the buds that form the fruit, and the first set 
of leaves in the spring develop in the fall of the preced- 
ing year. The buds that develop into leaves are separate 
from those that bear the fruit. It is probable, then, in 
cutting twigs for budding work that many fruit buds will 
be cut. Of course, the fruit buds are no good for nursery 
work and in making the selection they should be dis- 
carded. It is not always easy to distinguish fruit buds 
from leaf buds, but with little observation and study, 
few mistakes need be made. The first buds that appear 
in the axis of the leaves during the summer's growth are 
usually leaf buds, but along in July and August fruit buds 
begin to develop down near the base of the current year's 
growth and, as the season advances, appear farther and 
farther out on the terminal branches. They may appear 
singly, in pairs or in sets of three. Where they appear in 
pairs or in sets of three one of them is nearly always a fruit 
bud. In a general way, the fruit buds are a little larger 
and more plump than the leaf buds, the latter being thin 
and tapering to a long point. 

Bud forms on the apple and pear are quite different 
from those of the stone fruits. The fruit is always born 
on two-year old wood hence any bud formed on the current 
year's growth would necessarily be a leaf bud. This makes 
the process a fairly simple one with the Pome fruits. With 
the evergreen fruits such as the olive and the citrus fruits, 
bud formation is quite different. In climates where these 
fruits can be grown good, dormant buds can be found 
at nearly all periods of the year. With the various nut 



76 THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 

fruits, the buds containing flowers are so characteristic 
that no one would be likely to make a mistake. The two 
sexes in the fruit buds are usually separate. The pollen 
appearing in catkins on the older wood while the pistilate 
flowers develop on the terminal branches of the current 
year's growth. These peculiarties of the flowers would 
make it impossible to secure anything but leaf buds for 
propagation work. 

Collecting Bud Sticks. In selecting buds for nursery 
work the following points should be carefully kept in mind: 
First, select only healthy wood from trees that have made 
a good vigorous growth. Second, twigs from the upper 
or outer portion of the tree usually have stronger and better 
developed buds. Third, fruit buds are undesirable and 
should be avoided. 

In collecting bud stick it is customary, where possible, 
to cut only as fast as needed, because they deteriorate 
rapidly when exposed. The collector goes to the tree 
equipped with a wet sack, chps off the twigs with a long- 
handled pruning shears, immediately cuts the leaves back 
to within one-half inch of the stem, to prevent evapora- 
tion and then rolls them in the wet sack. As soon as 
enough are cut for the day's work, or as many as are desired, 
they are tied in a bundle, labeled, rolled up again and 
taken away for immediate use. 

Buds from Bearing Trees. Not all nurserymen select 
their buds from bearing trees. In fact, very few do this 
as a regular practice. The custom among the better com- 
panies is to use buds from bearing trees every third year, 
cutting from the previously budded nursery stock the other 



SHIPPING BUD STICKS 77 

two. If buds were selected continuously from bearing trees 
large orchards would need to be maintained for this pur- 
pose; which would add to the expense of the work. Also, 
the per cent of buds that grow when cut from bearing 
trees is very much lower than when taken from young 
trees. One company which buds an average of one milhon 
trees a year, estimates that not over forty per cent of the 
buds taken from bearing trees can be expected to grow, 
while often ninety-five per cent of those taken from other 
nursery trees will live and make good trees. 

The only argument in favor of using buds from bearing 
trees is to avoid the possible mixing of varieties. If one 
or two bad buds should get into the nursery and these be 
again selected the next year, the error multiplies in a 
geometrical ratio and in a very few seasons the stock 
would be in a badly mixed condition. So the practice 
of returning to the original stock once in three years is a 
very necessary one. 

Shipping Bud Sticks. Sometimes it may become neces- 
sary to send buds for some distance by mail or express. 
This can readily be done if care is taken in preparing 
them. They should be cut as described above, but in- 
stead of wrapping in wet cloth, they should be packed in 
moss and then wrapped in oiled paper. The moss is kept 
wet and the oiled paper prevents them from drying out. 
In this way they can be shipped for two or three days' 
journey without harm. If a longer journey is necessary, 
it is best to slip the package, moss, paper and all, into a 
tin tube that can be sealed up. If this precaution is taken 
they can be carried a week or even longer without spoiling. 



78 THE DIFFERENT BUDDING OPERATIONS 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 

1. What are the general differences between budding and graft- 

ing? 

2. Under what conditions are each best adapted? 

3. Which fruits are generally budded and which grafted? 

4. What are the different operations necessary in budding? 

5. Discuss the tools required. 

6. What is the stripping process, how done and why necessary? 

7. Name the different kinds of budding. 

8. Define June Budding and Dormant Budding. 

9. Explain how to cut and insert the bud. 

10. What is the after treatment for the buds that " take "? 

11. How does the treatment differ for June budding and Dormant 

budding ? 

12. How do large companies handle the details of budding? 

13. Discuss twig budding, where used, adaptability, etc. 

14. Define Bark Budding and explain its use. 

15. How is the work done? 

16. Give the after treatment. 

17. Discuss the summer culture of budded stock. 

18. What is sprouting and why necessary? 

19. Discuss the selecting of bud sticks. 

20. Give the method of collecting bud sticks and their after treat- 

ment. 

21. What is the practice in collecting buds by nurserymen? 

22. How are buds handled for shipment? 



CHAPTER V 
GRAFTING OPERATIONS 

The work of grafting is normally divided into two 
parts. Those grafts which are used by nurserymen in 
their regular work of propagation and those used mostly 
by orchardmen in connection with their practices of pro- 
duction. Of the many types of grafts in common prac- 
tice the larger number are adapted to the use of the or- 
chardist rather than to the nurseryman. As a matter of 
fact most nurserymen prefer to bud wherever possible 
as the cost is considerably less. 

Grafting Tools. For the various operations of graft- 
ing the tools necessary are a good strong knife, a hand- 
pruning shears, a saw, a waxing pot and brush and some 
material for tying up the union. In working over large 
trees a chisel, a mallet and a two-handled pruning shears 
should be added to the list. The best knife for the work 
would be one with a thin blade, made 
of good steel with the sides of the blade 
straight as it is impossible to make a 
straight cut with a blade having either 
concave or convex sides. This fact can 
be better illustrated from the following 
diagrams : 

79 




80 



GRAFTING OPERATIONS 



Saws. It is always best to have sharp tools with 
which to remove the branches that are too large to be cut 




Fig. 37. — Grafting Tools, a and 6, saws; c, chisel and mallet; d, 
waxing pot; e, two handled shears; /, hand shears; g, raffia. 

off with a knife. The use of shears should be avoided; 
instead, cut off with a fine-toothed saw. This is espe- 



CHISEL AND MALLET 81 

cially necessary on stocks too large to be whip-grafted. 
The bow-saw, A, Fig. 37, is in common use in the western 
states. In this type of saw the handle fits close in the 
hand and can be adjusted to a variety of conditions. Both 
ends of the blade are fastened by means of a swivel bolt 
which can be adjusted to any angle. One end is fastened 
with a thumb-screw nut which makes it easy to tighten or 
replace when broken. A number of saws of this type are 
now being manufactured and can be purchased at almost 
any nursery supply house. 

Such saws have a thin blade, make a very fine cut and 
the teeth being set wide will cut through a hmb with sur- 
prising ease. They can be used with success on branches 
up to three or four inches in diameter. The blade is 
made reversible so that the cut can be made by drawing 
the saw instead of shoving; in this way it is not so easily 
broken. For cutting large branches a good stiff-bladed 
pruning saw is desirable. 

Chisel and Mallet. For grafting large stock some 
kind of a splitter is required. Such a tool can be made by 
a blacksmith from an old file. The blade should be about 
six inches long and very thin to prevent spHtting the 
stock too far. On the end of the blade is a small wedge, 
which is used in holding the cleft open while the cion is 
being set in place. These wedges should be about one- 
half inch wide, three-quarters of an inch long and thin at 
the heel in order to work satisfactorily. The mallet can 
be made from a hard piece of wood, or an ordinary car- 
penter's mallet may be used. These ought not to weigh 
over one pound. 



82 GRAFTING OPERATIONS 

Pruning Shears. These do not differ in any way from 
those used in pruning work. If the shears have good steel 
and thin blades tapering to a sharp point better results 
can be had. The shears are not recommended for making 
cuts that a saw can be used for, but often grafts are made 
where they can be used to a better advantage. The objec- 
tion to shears is, that they crush the bark on one side of 
the stock while the cut is being made. 

Grafting Wax. On all grafts that are exposed to the 
air some covering is necessary to seal up the union and 
prevent evaporation of moisture. For this purpose a 
special grafting wax is used. This is made in three dif- 
ferent types, known as " hard wax," " soft wax " and 
" hquid wax." The usual ingredients in all of these are 
beeswax, resin and tallow. Various other substances are 
occasionally used, such as oil, turpentine and alcohol. 
The hard wax is made by melting together the three in- 
gredients, resin, beeswax and tallow and then cooling in a 
mold. The important thing to remember is the quantity 
of resin to use. If there is too much, the wax will be too 
hard and crack in cool weather, allowing the air to enter. 
If too Kttle is used, the wax will melt and run during the 
heat of the day. It is easy, therefore, to see that each sec- 
tion of the country may require a slightly different formula. 

The soft wax is made in the same way, except it is cooled 
in cold water and pulled to soften it and make it easy to 
apply. This wax is used cold and applied to the graft with 
the fingers. Oil is used on the hands to prevent the wax 
from sticking. The liquid wax is a combination of the above 
with the addition of some volatile liquid, usually alcohol. 



USE OF OIL IN WAX 83 

In this case the wax must be kept sealed to prevent 
evaporation. When appUed to the graft the alcohol evap- 
orates and the wax hardens. 

Use of Oil in Wax. All grafting waxes should be made 
with as little oil as possible. All light oils are very pene- 
trating, and when used in waxes are liable to work through 
the bark and injure the cambium layer. There is some 
objection to using oil on the hands when applying the soft 
wax, as in handling the cions some of the oil may be left 
on the tender bark. In such cases it is well to handle the 
wax with gloves, using the bare hands for setting the cions. 

Waxing Pot. Where the hard wax is used some pro- 
vision must be made to keep it warm while being applied. 
A special waxing pot as shown in D, Fig. 37, is used success- 
fully in many places. An old coffee pot with a hole cut 
in the side for a lamp, and a double boiler in the top works 
admirably. An alcohol or kerosene burner keeps the water 
hot, which in turn keeps the wax just soft enough to use 
and not hot enough to injure the bark of the stock or cion. 
For applying the wax a brush may be made from a piece of 
branch and a few fibers cut from a manila rope. This 
brush can be renewed every few hours and works, even 
better than a hair brush. 

Wax Formulae. There are various formulae used in 
making hard wax, but the following works satisfactorily: 

Resin 2 pounds 

Beeswax 1 ' ' 



Tallow (mutton or beef) 

Turpentine 2 ounces 



1 <« 

2 



84 GRAFTING OPERATIONS 

Melt the resin and tallow over a gentle fire, then add the 
beeswax and when well dissolved remove from the fire 
and add the turpentine; keep stirring until the turpen- 
tine is well incorporated, then pour into molds and set 
aside until wanted for use. 

For the soft wax the same formula as the above is used 
except the turpentine is omitted. In making soft wax, 
melt together as in the hard wax. When thoroughly mixed 
pour it into a tub of cold water and as soon as it hardens 
remove and work with the hands until soft. It will be 
necessary to use oil on the hands to prevent the wax from 
sticking. If the wax gets too soft in working do not use 
more oil but plunge the mixture back into the water until 
it is again of the right texture. Twenty minutes or a half 
hour of pulling the wax ought to get it into a soft phable 
mixture which can be applied to the grafts with the 
fingers. 

For the liquid wax the following formula may be used: 

Resin 1 pound 

Beeswax | " 

Tallow (mutton) i " 

Alcohol : .... 10 ounces 

Melt the resin and beeswax over a gentle fire, stirring 
in the tallow. Take from the fire and when partially cooled 
mix in the alcohol. If this cools it too rapidly, it must 
again be placed over the fire, great care being taken to keep 
the alcohol from burning. When well incorporated and 
cool, put into tin cases or glass bottles. It should be kept 
well covered or corked to prevent drying out. In using. 



THEORY OF GRAFTING 85 

apply with a stiff bristle brush. On exposure to the air 
the alcohol evaporates and the wax hardens. 

Theory of Grafting. The fundamental principle on 
which the practice of grafting is based is purely a question 
of plant physiology. Plants have a more or less definitely 
organized circulatory system. The food is taken in through 
the roots and passes upward through the outer or sap 
wood. It is then carried into the leaves where it is converted 
into the more highly organized compounds and made avail- 
able for plant growth. Part of this material passes down 
the trunk of the tree on the line between the bark and the 
wood. This constitutes the return flow of sap and is known 
as the cambium layer. This layer forms the wood cells 
on the inside, and the bark cells on the outside, and the point 
from which a union must be made when a cion is inserted. 

When a union is made between two different varieties 
of fruit this does not change the function of the cells of 
either stock or cion. Each cell performs its usual duties 
up to the point where the sap is passed on to the other 
wood. The work is then completed by the cells of the cion. 
If the cells of the stock are not able to supply the sap as 
fast as the cion can use it, the resulting tree will be dwarfed. 
This fact is made use of in nursery practice by grafting 
pear on quince stock to reduce the stature of the tree. 
If the cells of the cion are radically different from those 
of the stock, they will not be able to utilize the sap and no 
union will result. The limits of grafting then, depend more 
upon the closeness of the relationship of the stock and cion 
than upon any other one thing. 

Any one who is doing grafting work will have several 



86 GEAFTING OPERATIONS 

points to keep in mind. First, the relationship between 
the stock and cion must be one that will permit of a union 
from a physiological standpoint. Second, the cambium 
layer of the stock must coincide with the cambium layer 
of the cion in order that the sap may be passed from one 
to the other. Third, every precaution must be taken to 
seal up the union to prevent the loss of moisture and the 
consequent drying out. If, in addition to the above, 
the mechanical part of the operation be executed with care 
and cleanliness, good results may always be looked for. 

Kinds of Grafts. The names appHed to the various 
kinds of grafts are usually associated with some phase of the 
mechanics of the operation. They differ mainly in the 
details of the operation and have been the outgrowth of 
efforts to adapt the work to special situations or conditions. 
Often several different kinds may be used successfully 
for the same work. Those most used in the United States 
may be enumerated as follows: 

1. Whip grafts. 5. Veneer grafts. 

2. Side-whip grafts. 6. Side grafts. 

3. Cleft grafts. 7. Bridge grafts. 

4. Bark grafts. 8. Inarching. 

Whip Grafting. This is the graft most used by nur- 
serymen in their propagational work. It is used largely 
on apples and pears though it may be used on other fruits 
as well. The apple seedlings previously referred to are 
grown primarily for this kind of work. It is one of the 
most simple of the many diverse kinds of grafts and may 
be worked either in the field or indoors. In the latter 



WHIP GRAFTING 87 

case it is usually spoken of as " Bench Working," from the 
fact that the operation is performed on a bench. This 
method works best on small stock ranging from three-six- 
teenths inch to five-sixteenths inch in diameter. Seedlings 



^ im f^ #* 




Fig. 38. — Bench Working and Whip Grafting. 

older ihan one or two years are best grafted by other 
methods. 

For bench working, the seedhngs are dug up in the fall, 
separated into grades and stored for the winter. Enough 
for only one day's work is removed at a time. These are 
taken indoors, washed free from all dirt and they are then 
ready for grafting. The operation can best be understood 
by referring to Fig. 39. A smooth place is selected on the 
root just at the ground line. The seedling is held in the 



88 



GRAFTING OPERATIONS 



left hand with the thumb extending toward the top. The 
knife is then drawn upward making a smooth, even, slop- 
ing cut d. This should be perfectly straight with the cut 



Fig. 39.— Whip Graft. A, Cion; B, Stock; C, Union. 



surface about one inch and a quarter long. Then revers- 
ing the knife, about one quarter of an inch above the center 
of this cut, a slit or tongue e is made downward. This 
tongue should not be made straight with the grain but 
cut slightly across, partially parallel with the face d. The 



CALLUSING 89 

cion is then prepared in the same manner as the stock. 
This may be from four to six inches long and should 
contain at least two good buds. The cion is cut off about 
one-quarter inch above the last bud and should slope 
slightly away from it. 

The two are then joined together, care being taken that 
the bark of the cion and that of the stock be placed in close 
contact on one side. It will seldom be possible to unite 
the cambium layers on both sides because of the variation 
in the diameters of the two pieces. If one side fits per- 
fectly the resulting union will be just as satisfactory. If 
the sloping cuts are not perfectly straight or if the tongue 
is not started above the center of the cut, a close, tight 
fit can not be had. The grafts are then wrapped with a soft 
cotton string which has been dipped in melted grafting 
wax. The wrapping should hold the union snugly in place 
but should not cover all the surface. One-eighth of an inch 
should be left between each wrap so the callus will have a 
better chance to form. Raffia should not be used on whip 
grafts as it does not decay readily and may cut into the 
tree by the expanding growth. Where many seedlings 
are grafted a machine for doing the wrapping can be had. 
Figs. 40 and 41. 

Callusing. As fast as the grafts are completed, they 
are tied in bundles of fifty or one hundred each, properly 
labelled and stored away in the callusing bed where they 
remain until planting time in the spring. The labels must 
be of some material that water or soil will not affect, as much 
mixing of varieties in the nursery is due to carelessness in 
labelhng. The callusing bed should be placed where the 



90 



GEAFTING. OPERATIONS 




Fig. 40.— Machine for Wrapping Whip Grafts. 



CALLUSING 



91 



moisture can be controlled and the temperature will not 
fluctuate too much. The floor of a cellar or storage house 
would answer. 

For a small quantity, a box of suitable size would answer. 
The bottom is covered with a layer of sand three or four 
inches thick on which is placed a layer of grafts. These 




Fig. 41. — Machine in Operation. 



are covered with a layer of sand, then another layer of grafts 
and so on. The bundles of grafts may be stood on end if 
desired, although the entire bundle should be covered with 
sand. These must be examined from time to time during 
the winter to see that they are kept moist and that the tem- 
perature remains uniform. If the temperature runs too 
high the buds will start and no callus form; if too low 



92 GRAFTING OPERATIONS 

the cambium will remain inactive mitil spring. Between 
40 and 50 degrees Tahrenheit will give the best results, 
but no great harm will result by a drop to 32 degrees. In 
the spring as the temperature rises the grafts must be 
watched and as soon as the buds begin to grow they are 
transferred to the nursery. During the winter small 
white calluses will form along the line of the union. Where 
these are not found or where the union has turned black, 
the cion will not grow and these should be rejected when 
moved to the nursery. The rejected ones may be planted 
by themselves. After growing for another year they may 
again be grafted in the same way. 

Piece Root or Whole Root Grafts. Much discussion, 
in recent years, has taken place as to whether, in making 
whip grafts, the entire root of the seedling should be used 
or if a piece of the root would answer. Most nursery 
companies offer both, with a higher average price for the 
whole root grafts. The use of whole roots makes it neces- 
sary to use one or two-year old seedlings while the piece 
roots may be cut from older trees. The latter are much 
cheaper and are often the only ones available. Their 
desirability for nursery work depends, not on the place 
where the root was cut, but on the amount of root growth 
on the mature nursery tree. The consensus of opinion 
among investigators is that root development is somewhat 
slower on the older piece roots, but where the roots are 
healthy and vigorous the resulting tree will be just as good 
as when the whole root is used. 

Some nursery companies, make and offer for sale cal- 
lused whip grafts. This offers an opportunity for or- 



SIDE WHIP GRAFTING 



93 



chardists to buy their stock already grafted and only re- 
quires two years in the developing of nursery trees ready 
for the orchard. For this work the whole root grafts are 
made in two grades, depending on whether the No. 1 or 
No. 2 seedhngs are used. In both of these the root would 





Fig. 42.— Whip Root Grafts. 1. Whole Root Branched. 2. Piece 
Root. 3. Whole Root Straight. 

be cut back to eight inches and the cion to five, making 
a thirteen-inch graft. For piece root grafts, it is custom- 
ary to use a four-inch root with a six-inch cion which has 
been found to give the best results. Prices for whip grafts 
range from $3.50 a thousand for the piece root to $6.00 
for whole root work. 

Side Whip Grafting. This is the only other graft of 



94 



GEAFTING OPERATIONS 



importance used in regular nursery practice and is a modi- 
fication of the whip graft. Its chief value over the other 
one is, that it is adapted to a larger stock, may be used to 
better advantage out of doors, and accommodates a larger 





Cion Inserted Cion Tied 

Fig. 43.— Side Whip Graft. 

and more brittle cion. For these reasons it is used mostly 
in the south and the west for the thick-barked fruits, 
like the walnut or pecan, although it may be used success- 
fully on any fruit tree. 

In most cases the union is made close to the ground. 



TOP WOEKING OLD TREES 95 

The soil is scraped away from the base of the seedhng and 
the top is removed with a two-handled pruning shears. 
This cut may be square across or on a slight slant; the latter 
is usually preferred. The operator kneels on the ground 
and with his knife makes a cut on the side of the stock 
as illustrated in Fig. 43. This cut should be about one and 
one-half inches long, rounding in sharply at the bottom and 
coming out nearly straight with the grain at the top. The 
cion is cut in the same way as for the whip graft and inserted 
in the same manner. The tongue on the stock should 
start somewhat below the top and run down straight with 
the grain of the wood. The bottom of the cion should 
come down as far as the cut on the stock, and make a 
close, smooth connection. The union is than tied up with 
raffia or waxed cloth and this is covered with wax. The 
soil is then pulled back around the base of the tree so as to 
cover the union leaving only the top of the cion exposed. 
The process is the same when used on the branches above 
ground but more attention should be given to the waxing. 
Top Working Old Trees. Many trees for one reason 
or another bear undesirable fruit and are worked over to 
other varieties. It may be a seedling which has never 
been grafted or some standard variety unsuited to a par- 
ticular market or locality. The trees may be only a few 
years old or of many decades, but so long as they are healthy 
they may be grafted. There are other reasons for top-work- 
ing trees, such as vigor, resistance to cold or insect troubles, 
adaptability to soils, length of life, etc., all of which will 
be discussed later. An up-to-date orchardist will not 
have any drones among his trees. They will all be grafted 



96 



GRAFTING OPERATIONS 



over to good varieties and made to do their part. Some- 
times whole orchards are grafted over to other varieties. 
(Fig. 44.) 

Cleft Grafting. In top-working trees the oldest and 
probably most used graft is the cleft. This works success 
fully on branches from one-half inch in diameter up to two or 
three inches and may be used on those as large as six inches 




Fig. 44. — Working over an Almond Orchard to Prunes in California. 



Cions may be placed down close to the ground or up in 
the tops of old trees. The work should be done in the spring 
before growth normally starts and while both stock and 
cion are still dormant. Summer grafting may be done, 
but the practice is not general. 

In performing the operation, the stock is cut squarely 
across with a fine saw and a cleft made down about one 
and one-half inches. The cion should contain at least 



CLEFT GRATING 



97 



two good buds and be three or four inches long. The lower 
I end is cut to a wedge shape, making the slope the same 
length as the depth of the cleft in the stock. The cleft 




stock 



Cion Cion Inserted 

Fig. 45.— Cleft Grafting. 



Wax Applied 



is then pried open with the splitter, previously mentioned, 
and the cion inserted, being careful to have the cambium 
layers of the two pieces closely united. If the inner edge 
of the cion is made slightly thinner than the outer the 



98 



GEAFTING OPERATIONS 




Fig. 46.— Young Tree Cleft Grafted. 




Fig. 47.— Same Tree as Fig. 46 after Two Years' Growth. 



CLEFT GRAFTING 99 

union will fit better. If the stock is one inch or more in 
diameter two cions are inserted. If both grow, one can 
be removed at the close of the first year. It will also be 
necessary to guard against the crushing of the tender cion 
from the spring of the wood in making the cleft. To avoid 
this, two methods are available. One is to put a small wedge 
in the center of the cleft to ease the pressure off the cion. 
The other is to make the cleft across the edge of the stock 
rather than through the center. The latter method is 
preferable as it is easier to make and permits of heahng 
somewhat quicker than where spKt through the center. 
Besides, the position of the cleft can always be regulated 
so as to get just enough pressure to hold the cion in posi- 
tion and make tying unnecessary. 

After the cion is in position the imion should be waxed 
over. If the stock is a very small one it will be necessary 
to tie the graft, but on the larger limbs the natural spring 
of the wood will hold the cion as tight as necessary. The 
wax should be applied to all the exposed places, covering 
the entire end of the stock and down the side as far as the 
cleft goes. Sometimes a drop of wax is placed on the end 
of the cion. If th-e waxing is done some time before growth 
starts in the spring, it may be necessary to go over the 
grafts a second time to be sure that all of the unions are 
properly sealed up. Not all the cions will grow and many 
that do grow will not start until some time after the normal 
growth. 

The grafts will have to be watched through the summer 
and as the growth develops some pruning will be necessary. 
Sprouts will often develop around the graft and these will 



100 



GRAFTING OPERATIONS 



have to be kept off so they will not interfere with the cion. 
If it is a case of top-working an old tree, some of the other 
branches may grow in the way and prevent proper branch- 
ing of the cion. All these should be watched and every- 
thing cut away that would interfere with the correct de- 
velopment of a new top. An old tree may be top-vv^orked 
completely in one year or two or more seasons may be used. 




"Fig. 48. — A Top-worked Tree Leaving " Nurse " Branches. 

It is not necessary to leave a few branches as '' nurse " 
branches for one year while the rest are being worked 
over. This practice is common in some sections of the 
country and as far as is known gives good results. 

Veneer Grafting. This is variously known as '' V " 
grafting or notch grafting. Its use is chiefly as a substi- 
tute for cleft grafting as it is not necessary to split the stock. 
A V-shaped cut is made in the side of the stock where the 



VENEEE GEAFTING 



101 



cleft would ordinarily be made. This is cut through the 
bark and into the wood, its size and depth being regulated 
by the size of the cion to be used. The cion is cut in the 
same way as for the cleft, only the lower end is cut 





stock Cion Graft Completed 

Fig. 49. — Veneer or V Grafting. 



V-shaped instead of a wedge. In large stocks, the cut may 
be made with a saw and the edges trimmed out to the 
V shape with a knife. 

The V cut of the cion fits into the notch of the stock 
and the cambium layers are joined as in the cleft. (Fig. 



102 



GRAFTING OPERATIONS 



49.) It is then tied up with raffia and all the exposed 
area waxed over. This method works well on hard wood 
and where the cions are large and inchned to be brittle. 
It is also better adapted to larger branches than the cleft 
is. Its only objection is that the cions sometimes blow 
out before they get firmly established. This, however, 
can be prevented by judicious pruning of the cion or by 




Fig. 50.— a Side Graft. 



nailing a lath to the side of the stock and tying the cion 
to this as the growth develops. It is used largely on the 
Pacific Coast where it is looked on with favor as a good 
substitute for the cleft graft. 

Side Grafting. This method is used to a limited extent 
to place an extra branch on a young tree or fill in where 
one may be missing. It may be used on shrubs as well 
as fruit trees. It works best on stock from one-half up 



BAEK GEAFTING 103 

to two inches in size. The top of the branch is not cut 
off; but is bent over and a downward sloping cut made into 
the side where the new Umb is to be placed. The cion is 
then cut with a long sloping face as shown in Fig. 50. This 
is fitted into the stock by bending it over, care being taken 
to get the cambium layers to fit closely along one side. 
The union is then tied up and carefully waxed over. It 
is also possible to renew the top of a tree by this method. 
The graft is placed on the smaller branches and as soon 
as growth starts the part above is cut off close to the 
union. 

Bark Grafting. This is a method of top- working trees 
which may be used after growth has started in the spring. 
All the other grafting operations should be done while the 
trees are still dormant. If this is impossible the method 
of bark grafting may be used. In this process the important 
thing is to keep the cions from starting. They may be 
collected in the usual way and placed in cold storage, or 
if this is not available, bury them in the sawdust on top of 
the ice in an icehouse. By these methods the cions may be 
kept dormant from four to six weeks beyond the normal 
growing season. 

To bark graft, the stock is cut in the same manner as 
for cleft work. The bark is then cut down for an inch 
and a half and the corners carefully loosened from the 
wood. The cion is cut with a long slope on one side only 
(see Fig. 51). This is then inserted in the stock between 
the loosened bark and the wood, placing the cut surface of 
the cion next to the wood. It is tied up with raffia and 
waxed over as for the other grafts. The two unite quickly 



104 



GRAFTING OPERATIONS 



and growth is apparently as strong and as good as any 
of the other methods. 

Inarching. Grafting by Approach. A method adaptable 
to many ornamental plants but may also be used in orchard 
work. Two plants or two parts of the same plant are 




Fig. 51.— Bark Graft. 



brought together and a union made by cutting through the 
bark at the desired point of contact. Various fancy forms 
such as cordons, arches, trees for growing against walls, 
etc., are formed by this method. Natural braces for fruit 
trees may also be made. (See Fig. 52.) Tw^o small twigs 
extending from different branches are brought together 



BRIDGE GRAFTING 



105 



and the ends untied. These enlarge as they grow, getting 
strong enough in time to support the hmbs and do away 
with props. 




-."• > «, 






Fig. 52. — Inarching. 

Bridge Grafting. Often trees may be injured by acci- 
dents, such as fire, carelessness in cultivating or plowing, 
or by mice and rabbits during the winter. Such injuries 
weaken the tree by cutting off part of the food supply 



106 GRAFTING OPERATIONS 

and if they extend all around the trunk, the tree is com- 
pletely girdled and will die. If such injuries are dis- 
covered before growth starts in the spring, the tree can 
usually be saved by bridge grafting. In case the trouble 
is the result of summer injury the remedy is not so easy 
but may be used successfully. Where the bark has been 
off for two or three years but resulting in comparatively 
small wounds the same remedy may be used. If decay 
has started in the wood, this may be checked, but new 
wood cannot be grown. 

If the injury results in a complete girdle, the first thing 
to do is to trim off the edges of the old bark down to 
fresh cambium, both above and below the wound. The 
cions may be cut from the same or similar trees and should 
be of the current year's growth. The distance is carefully 
measured across the injury and the cions cut a sufficient 
length to reach across and extend one and one-quarter inches 
under the fresh bark both above and below the wound. 
Both ends of the cions are cut to a face similar to the one 
used in the bark graft. These are then inserted under the 
bark at both sides of the injury placing the cut face next 
to the wood of the tree. If a cion can be placed every 
inch around the girdle results will be much more satis- 
factory. They are then tied up and waxed over, being 
sure to cover all exposed areas. 

If the injury occurs close to the ground the soil may 
be pulled up around the cions after they have been set 
and waxed. Old wounds running only part way around 
the trunk may be healed in the same manner. If the 
injury is small, the bark of the stock is cut so as to let the 



COLLECTING CIONS 



107 



cion lay as flat as possible, but in the case of a large injury 
a T cut may be made as in budding and the cion put in 
place by bending. (See Fig. 53.) If the injury is narrow 
and long the cions may be placed diagonally across the open- 
ing rather than vertically as in the others. The cions 
enlarge as growth develops until after two or three years 




Injured Trunh 



Cions 




Cions Inserted 



Boffla 



Fig. 53. — Healing Over an Injury by Bridge Grafting. 



they will come together and the injury will be entirely 
healed. Bridge grafting is appHcable to the common 
deciduous, forest or ornamental trees as well as to fruit 
trees. 

Collecting Cions. Good cions are essential to good 
trees and should therefore be collected with considerable 
care. It is first of all, important to know the trees from 
which the cions are taken. A strong vigorous tree bear- 



108 



GEAFTING OPERATIONS 



ing regular crops can be expected to reproduce this charac- 
ter from its vegetative parts. Every part of a tree is not 
necessarily of equal vigor. The lower branches receiv- 
ing less sunhght are not as vigorous as the ones higher 
up. Trees growing on good soil will produce better cions 
than trees from poorer soil. As in the case of bud sticks 




Fig. 54. — Bridge Graft after Two Years' Growth. 

select cions from those trees which have good bearing 
records and from the most vigorous parts of those trees. 

The best cions are obtained from one year old wood 
of an average growth of from eighteen to twenty-four inches. 
The longer the growing season of any locahty the larger 
the cions that can be had. Where only a few are needed 
they may be cut as fast as used. In top-working trees 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 109 

it is preferable to use the cions as soon as possible after 
cutting. Where winter conditions are severe enough to 
cause injury cions should be collected in the fall, some- 
time preceding the expected heavy freezes. In other 
localities any time through the dormant season will answer. 
The cions are chpped from the trees, tied up in bundles, 
properly labelled and carried away to some convenient 
storage place. They may be placed in a box, and covered 
with sand, and set away in some cool moist place until 
needed. They should be examined from time to time to see 
that the sand does not become dry. The temperature ought 
not to get above forty-five degrees as there will be danger of 
the buds starting. If proper attention be given to mois- 
ture and temperature cions may be kept all through the 
dormant season without any appreciable loss of vitality. 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 

1. Contrast grafting with budding as to their importance in 

nursery work. 

2. Describe the tools necessary for grafting work. 

3. Describe the different grafting waxes and explain how they 

are made. 

4. Why is an oil objectionable in any grafting wax? 

5. How are waxing pots made? 

6. Give the theory of grafting. 

7. List the various grafts and explain where used. 

8. Discuss the whip graft — how made and after treatment. 

9. What is a callusing bed, how made and purpose? 

10. Give the relative importance of piece root and whole root 
grafts. 



110 GRAFTING OPERATIONS 

11. Explain the use and how to make the side- whip graft. 

12. What is " Top Workmg," the importance and objects of it? 

13. Explain Cleft grafting, how done and where desirable. 

14. Explain Veneer grafting, how done and where desirable. 

15. Explain Side grafting, how done and where desirable. 

16. Explain Bark grafting, how done and where desirable. 

17. Explam Inarchmg, how done and where desirable. 

18. Explam Bridge grafting, how done and where desirable. 

19. Give the essential points m collectmg and handling cions. 



CHAPTER VI 
PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS 

Cuttings. A cutting is a portion of the vegetative 
part of a plant which may be treated in such a way as to 
form a new individual. The resulting tree will be in 
every respect the exact duplicate of the parent from which 
the cutting was taken, and will need no further treatment 
in the way of budding or grafting in order to reproduce 
the same kind of fruit or flower. Plants propagated 
vegetatively are just as stable, just as hardy, and in 
every way equally as suitable for the production of 
fruit as those grown by the usual methods of budding or 
grafting. 

Every kind of fruit, so far as is known, can be repro- 
duced from cuttings. The method is practical, however, 
for only a few kinds, as other ways are easier and less expen- 
sive. The various fruits are in no way uniform with re- 
spect to the ease with which they may be propagated from 
cuttings. Some grow readily from any portion of the plant, 
others only certain parts can be used. A number, includ- 
ing most of the nuts and stone fruits can only be grown 
with great difficulty. It is fortunate for the nurseryman 
and the orchardist that those fruits which are the most 
difficult to grow from seed, reproduce with ease from the 
vegetative parts. 

Ill 



112 PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS 

Fruits Grown from Cuttings. The various fruits that 
are usually grown from cuttings may be classified under 
the following heads: 

The Usual Method 
Bananas Gooseberries 

Currants Grapes 

Dates Mulberries 

Doucine Olives 

Figs Pineapples 

Filberts Pomegranates 

- Quinces 

Occasionally Used 
Apples Mangos 

Citrus fruits Persimmons 

Guavas Pears 

Loquats Plums 

Parts Used. In nearly every case where fruits are 
propagated from cuttings some part of the trunk or branch 
is used. Occasionally roots are taken, but in no case can 
leaves be used successfully. With the pineapple and the 
date the cuttings are generally called " Suckers " and are 
off-shoots that appear in the axils of the leaves. These 
sometimes take root while still attached to the parent 
plant, but are usually removed in the early stages of growth 
and rooted in the ground. 

Classification of Cuttings. Stem cuttings may be 
classified according to the degree of maturity of the wood 
from which they are made. Dormant or Hardwood 
cuttings are where the plant has partially or wholly com- 



PEINCIPLES INVOLVED 113 

pleted the year's growth and passed into a quiescent stage. 
If the plant is in active growth the cuttings would be 
semi-dormant. Cuttings taken from the young shoots 
of the current yearns growth or from the sub-tropical fruits, 
which never pass into a complete dormant stage, belong to 
this class. Then there is a third type of cutting made from 
plants which have only soft or succulent growths. Such 
plants as geraniums, cacti and many other flowering kinds 
belong to this type. Vegetative propagation from such 
plants would be called Softwood Cuttings. 

Principles Involved. The different classes of cuttings 
are widely variable in their physiological and chemical 
activities and should therefore be treated differently in 
the processes of propagation. Plant Physiologists tell 
us that every part of the individual plant has in it, poten- 
tially at least, all the essentials necessary for the production 
of the mature individual. As the cell is the unit of the plant 
so in that cell is located everything necessary to develop 
the future buds, roots, leaves and flowers. That some cells 
possess this quality to a greater degree than others is 
amply proven by the ease or difficulty with which differ- 
ent cuttings may be used for propagation. 

The part of the plant tissue possessing the greater value 
in propagation is closely associated with the cambium 
layer. In fact the same tissue which makes possible 
budding and grafting produces the new buds, roots and 
leaves where cuttings are used. The cambium layer, 
then, containing the primary or unorganized tissue is 
the important part. The stem and root cuttings of the 
ordinary trees and shrubs have this tissue just beneath 



114 PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS 

the bark, while most of the leaves and the body tissue 
of the lower forms have it distributed through the entire 
plant in more or less definitely organized bundles. Most 
of the softwood cuttings belong to this class, which makes 
it necessary to give them a different treatment. 

Cuttings made from dormant wood have the cambium 
layer inactive, and the cells contain abundance of stored 
food, which under normal conditions would carry the life 
processes forward, until such time as leaf growth would 
enable the plant to manufacture more. Under such con- 
ditions growth starts slowly. Ample time should be given 
dormant cuttings that the cambium may throw out a cal- 
lus to cover over the wound. The temperature should 
be raised gradually so that the stored food may be able to 
take on its natural functions without too much haste. 
In the case of cuttings taken from active growing trees, 
the cambium is active, little reserve plant food is avail- 
able ^ hence a long quiescent period is apt to result in decay. 
The growing tissue must be provided with food and mois- 
ture, and conditions made favorable for a continuation of 
growth. This is done by leaving on a portion of the leaves 
to manufacture food, removing only what is necessary to 
prevent- undue evaporation of moisture, by making the 
lower cut close to a node or bud where the cambium tissue 
is more abundant and by keeping the atmosphere and soil 
conditions surrounding the cuttings more humid or moist. 
These conditions are most favorable to growth for the soft- 
wood and the semidormant cuttings, and the details of the 
work consist in the applying of these principles in the 
most practical way. 



CALLUSING BED 115 

Callusing Bed. Dormant cuttings like the whip graft 
must be put through a callusing process before planting 
in the open ground. This may be done in exactly the 
same way as the whip grafts. The cuttings are made in 
the fall or early winter, tied up in bundles, properly labelled 
and placed in the callusing bed. If sand is used it may 
be placed in a cellar where the temperature will not get 
above fifty degrees before spring. If possible, the temper- 
ature should be held around thirty-two until mid-winter 
and then raised gradually until planting time in the spring. 
The cambium runs out at the cut ends of the twigs and forms 
a white callus which later in the spring throws off roots. 
The roots do not always come or form from these calluses 
but may develop around the buds or nodes. In some plants, 
as the willow, they may develop at any point between the 
nodes. This latter represents adventitious buds which 
have formed in the cambium layer and forced their way 
through the epidermis. 

Where dormant cuttings are made on a large scale it 
is often desirable to have a callusing bed out in the open, 
particularly is this true in the warmer states. Such a bed 
may be located in any convenient place where the soil is 
of a sandy nature and the drainage good. Under such con- 
ditions the cuttings should be made early in the fall, it 
frequently being necessary to strip the leaves from the twigs 
used. They would then be tied in bundles and buried in 
the bed with the small ends downward; the upper end 
being only two or three inches below the surface of the 
ground. The sun shining on the ground makes the soil 
near the top a little warmer, which tends to hasten the cal- 



116 PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS 

lusing without materially disturbing the part that is buried 
deeper. 

After the cuttings have remained in these beds for 
several weeks they are removed and planted in the nur- 
sery row. This is best done late in the fall when no growth 
can take place until spring. If they are to be left in the 
beds over the winter the bundles should be dug up and 
reburied, laying the cuttings flatwise. They should then 
be covered with sufficient soil or mulch to prevent freezing 
during the colder months. It should be mentioned in this 
connection that the roots normally spring from the end 
of the twig that was closest to the roots before cutting 
Also that root cuttings will throw out branches from the 
end that was normally closest to the trunk. This condi- 
tion is known as polarity and is probably the result of the 
same magnetic effects which causes branches to grow up 
and roots to grow down. It is not at all impossible to 
reverse root growth, as may be illustrated in black rasp- 
berries which are rooted from the tips of the canes. In 
this particular case the roots form from the node just below 
the dormant bud and the latter point downward when 
growth starts, but soon reverses and grows upward. 

Kinds of Cuttings. Numerous names have been 
appHed to the various cuttings depending partially on the 
wood taken and partially on the after treatment. Those 
most commonly used in connection with the propagation 
of tree fruits may be classified as follows: 
Single eye cuttings Mallet cuttings Tip cuttings 

Simple cuttings Root cuttings Softwood cuttings 

Heel cuttings Nurse root cuttings Truncheons 



SINGLE EYE CUTTINGS 



117 



Single Eye Cuttings. Where wood for. cuttings is 
scarce, a single bud or node with a portion of the wood on 
both sides may be used. This is sometimes done with 
rare varieties of grapes, roses and many of the ornamental 




Fig. 55. — Types of Cuttings, (a) Simple Cutting. (6) Mallet Cutting, 
(c) Tip Cutting. 

shrubs. This method works best where bottom heat can 
be had as in greenhouses or glass propagating houses. It 
is difficult to use in the open ground unless the variety 
is one especially easy to grow. (See a, Fig. 55.) 

Most nursery conipanies are provided with glass houses, 
especially arranged for the work of propagation. Benches 



118 PEOPAGATION BY CUTTINGS 

or beds are used, which are so arranged that a gentle bottom 
heat may be appUed at any time. Either hot water or 
steam may be used. The benches are filled with a fine clean 
sand in which the cuttings are placed. If the single eye 
cuttings are made of dormant wood they are first callused 
as described above and then placed in the propagating 
bench. The temperature is started at about fifty degrees 
and gradually raised, through a period of several weeks 
until a normal-growing condition is reached. If the cut- 
tings are softwood or semi-dormant the callusing process 
is omitted and the cuttings placed immediately in the prop- 
agating bench. With this method the sand should be free 
from organic matter to prevent decay. 

Simple Cuttings. This is the common form of cuttings 
used in outdoor propagation. Grapes, figs, mulberries 
and sometimes olives are grown by this method. One year 
old dormant wood is usually taken, although with the ohve 
and citrus fruits the semi-dormant is sometimes used. 
As each fruit is treated somewhat differently in this method 
of propagation each one will be considered separately. 

Graces. The simple cutting is the only practical method 
for propagating the grape. The cuttings are made either 
in the fall after most of the leaves have dropped, or some- 
time through the winter in connection with the pruning. 
They should be made of well-matured wood of one season's 
growth and should be from sixteen to twenty inches long. 
The lower end should be cut close to the bud or node 
and the upper end within a half inch of the node. If 
cut late in the fall they may be transferred direct to the 
nursery row. A good deep sandy loam is prepared as for 



SIMPLE CUTTINGS 119 

a seed bed and the cuttings set by means of an iron bar. 
Holes are punched deep enough to admit the cutting, 
leaving only the last bud sticking out. These are then 
made compact in the soil by pushing the bar down a few 
inches to the side. From fifty to eighty per cent will 
take root by this method. 

Where the cuttings are made through the winter they 
are taken to the callusing pit where they remain until 
spring before setting in the nursery row. Where calluses 
form, the cutting may be expected to grow; if the ends 
have turned black it should be discarded. Where the 
European varieties are grown, as on the Pacific Coast for 
raisins, it often becomes necessary to graft the standard 
varieties on to stock that is resistant to the grape phyl- 
loxera. Most of the American species are resistant to this 
insect hence they may be used for stock for the European 
varieties. The cuttings are made in the usual way but 
before rooting they are grafted to the desired variety as 
illustrated in h Fig. 56. The union is very similar to the 
one used in whip grafting apples, except that the cut is 
more nearly straight across the stock. 

If the work is done carefully no tying or waxing will be 
necessary. The buds below the graft are cut off so other 
sprouts than the one desired will not start. One or two 
buds on the bottom of the stock are left from which roots 
can develop. After the grafting is done, the cutting, 
graft and all, is placed in a special callusing bed where the 
temperature can be controlled. Calluses form on the 
ends of the cutting and at the union at the same time. 
These remain in the beds until spring when they are trans- 



120 



PROPAGATION BY CQTTINGS 



ferred to the nursery and treated the same as for the or- 
dinary cutting. One season is usually enough to form a 



Fig. 56. — (a) Simple Grape Cutting, (b) Grafted Grape Cutting 
Showing Method of Dis-budding. 



fair root system ^ though many nurserymen prefer two years 
before setting in the vineyard. 



HEEL CUTTINGS 121 

Figs. Seed from commercial figs can be germinated only 
with great difficulty even under the best greenhouse condi- 
tions. They are, however, easily propagated from cuttings. 
These are ordinarily made about ten inches in length, 
using wood that calipers from three-eighths to three- 
quarters of an inch in diameter. The bottom end is cut 
close to a bud as in the grape. In fact it should be cut 
right into the wood partition, so that there is no pith 
cavity left at the bottom end of the cutting. In the warmer 
parts of the United States where figs are commonly grown 
the cuttings can best be made in January or February. 
They are tied into bundles and placed in the callusing 
bed bottom end up. The ends soon heal over and by the 
latter part of March they can be transplanted in the nur- 
sery row. Sufficient moisture should be provided that they 
will not dry out during the summer. 

The other fruits that are sometimes propagated by means 
of the simple cutting are the mulberry, quince, pomegran- 
ate, currant, gooseberry and occasionally the apple and 
some of the citrus fruits. The treatment for all of these 
is very much the same; the cutting is made when the wood 
is dormant, or as near as may be, placed in the callusing 
bed in the fall to heal over and then removed to the nur- 
sery row. In the warmer parts of the country where the 
falls are late and the fruit wood matures early it is best to 
remove the cuttings from the callusing bed and set in the 
nursery before very cold weather. In the colder states 
they are better left in the beds over winter and set in the 
nursery in the spring. 

Heel Cuttings. It sometimes happens that the 



122 



PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS 



simple cuttings will start much more easily if a part of the 
branch from which it is taken is removed with it. This 
piece is known as a '' heel " from which the cutting takes 



■f:A 




Orange Lemon 

Fig. 57. — Cuttings as Sometimes Used on the Citrus Fruits. 

its name. (See h, Fig. 55.) The number of cuttings that 
can be made by this method is much less than the simple 
way as each branch can produce but one. The grape 
and the olive are sometimes grown in this way when the 
other methods fail. The doucine stock which is used for a 



MALLET CUTTINGS 123 

partial dwarfing of the apple is propagated in this manner. 
The top of the main tree is cut off, thus forcing many ad- 
ventitious buds along the stem and around the base. When 
these have made one year's growth they are pulled or cut 
off of the parent plant and treated as a cutting. Roots 
readily form from the enlarged base. 

Mallet Cuttings. This method is very similar to the 
one just described. Instead of cutting out a piece at the 
base of the branch, the entire limb is removed and a short 
portion left with each cutting. It possesses no particular 
advantage over the heel cutting, — the chief purpose being 
to aid in the pruning of the tree. Unless the plant is grown 
for the purpose of producing cuttings only, the removal 
of the piece for the heel cutting will leave the branch so 
weak that it would have to be removed. In all such 
cases it is just as well to cut the branch off first and then 
make the mallet cutting. The piece which constitutes the 
mallet should not project more than one inch on each 
side of the cutting proper. If the cut can be made with a 
knife instead of a saw the roots will start more easily. 
Fig. 55 (6) represents a mallet cutting, while the dotted 
line running through the base indicates where the cut 
should be made to produce a heel cutting. 

Root Cuttings. Practically all the tree fruits that 
will grow readily from cuttings made from the branches 
may be similarly grown from pieces of the roots. In the 
case of budded or grafted trees this practice would be of 
no value, as such root cuttings would only produce stock 
on which other varieties would have to be worked. Where 
roots are used for cuttings, branches should be selected 



124 PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS 

that caliper from one-quarter to one-half inch in diam- 
eter. These should be cut from eight to ten inches long 
and put through the same treatment in the callusing bed 
as the simple cutting. They may be taken either in the 
fall or spring and will often work successfully where cut 
in the summer. After the calluses are formed they are 
transferred to the nursery row, placing them from six to 
eight inches apart. Often sprouts may be produced from 
roots by the simple method of severing the smaller roots 
from the parent plant without disturbing their feeding 
tips. Buds will form near the end from which shoots will 
grow. When these are one year old they are dug up and 
treated as new plants. 

Nurse Root Cuttings. This is a somewhat new de- 
parture in tree fruit propagation. It is being worked in a 
practical way in a number of nurseries and has given 
highly satisfactory results. The cutting is made very 
similar to the simple one except that it is not so long, eight 
to ten inches being sufficient. On the bottom end is placed 
a small piece of root known as a nurse root. This is grafted 
on as illustrated in Fig. 58 or a simple whip graft may be 
used. This root gives the cutting a quicker connection 
with the soil, then later as growth develops new roots form 
from the cutting proper, which eventually become the chief 
support of the tree. 

This method was the outgrowth of a series of studies 
of the influence of stock on the cion. It was found that 
many desirable varieties of fruit were lacking in vigor due 
partially to the poor union with the stock and partially 
to the inherent weakness of the variety itself. Such are 



NURSE EOOT CUTTINGS 125 

often improved when grown from rooted cuttings. Some 
varieties of fruit are more resistant to diseases than any root 




Fig. 58. — Nurse Root Cutting. 

on which they may be worked. This may be illustrated 
by the resistance of the Northern Spy apple roots to the 



126 PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS 

woolly aphis. Often varieties of fruit are better adapted 
to local conditions, such as extremes of humidity, low tem- 
peratures of the north or the prairies of the northwest when 
grown from their own rooted cuttings. In most of these 
cases, the nurse root is the best method where the varieties 
do not root readily from their own cuttings. 

Tip Cuttings. This is a method where semi-dormant 
wood is used and is adapted to such fruits as the olive, 
loquat and ornamentals like the oleander which are ever- 
green and have a more or less heavy foliage. The olive 
in particular is propagated in this manner in a number of 
nurseries in California. Mr. W. T. Kirkman, of Fresno, 
describes the process as follows: '' The cuttings are made 
about three inches long from the tip wood, or small wood 
near the tips of the branches. Two leaves are left 
on each piece near the top of the cutting, — the bottom 
end is cut close to the bud — in fact, right against the bud. 
These small cuttings are best made in October and should be 
immediately placed into a sand bed, where they are rooted. 
It is usually necessary to supply a medium bottom heat 
during the winter." These rooted cuttings are placed in 
the nursery row in the spring where from one to two 
years is required to produce a nursery tree measuring 
from three to five feet in height. (See c, Fig. 55.) 

Truncheons. Some few fruits and a number of kinds 
of trees may be grown from pieces of wood ranging much 
larger in size than used in an ordinary cutting. Such 
pieces used in propagation are known as truncheons. The 
method is slow and not altogether satisfactory, but never- 
theless is used in Europe to some extent in propagating 



TEUNCHEONS 



127 



the olive. The branches from one-half inch to three 
inches that are cut off in pruning are carefully saved and 
used for production of new trees. The small pieces are 
split in half, while the larger ones are quartered. These 
are then buried in the propagating bed, placing each piece 
in a horizontal position with the bark uppermost, and from 
three to four inches below the surface of the ground. This 
is best done in the early spring, moisture being supplied 
throughout the summer and clean culture given. The 
buds at the nodes gradually develop into branches and roots 




Fig. 59. — Propagating Olives by Use of Truncheons. 

form around their base. After two summers' growth the 
entire truncheon is dug up and the pieces containing the 
desired sprouts are cut off with a saw and transferred to 
the permanent grove. Occasionally three years will be 
necessary to produce a good tree. (Fig. 59.) 

Softwood Cuttings. Unless the suckers or offshoots 
used in propagating bananas and pineapples may be classed 
as softwood cuttings, this method would have little use 
among nurserymen. It properly belongs in a discussion 
of the methods of vegetative propagation used in the great 
class of soft, succulent perennials so common to the florist. 



128 PEOPAGATION BY CUTTINGS 

For all of this class of plants which do not readily repro- 
duce from seed this method is by far the most important. 
To get the best results with softwood cuttingS; green- 
house conditions are necessary. A good propagating bench, 
with five or six inches of clean, coarse sand, facilities for 
providing bottom heat, an even distribution of tempera- 
ture and a close glass cover for the bed to regulate the 
humidity, are some of the conditions necessary. For all 
such cuttings three principles should be kept in mind: 
First, young wood formed somewhat late in the life of 
the individual will root the easiest. Second, the cuttings 
are made while the plants are in active growth and they 
should, therefore, contain just sufficient leaf surface to 
keep up the life processes of the plant and not enough to 
cause undue loss of moisture. Third, in regard to mois- 
ture and temperature, keep the cuttings under similar 
conditions in which the parent made the best growth. 
Roots will form in a short time, when the cuttings are re- 
moved from the propagating bed and treated according 
to the requirements of each individual. 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 

1. What is a cutting? 

2. What fruits are usually propagated by cuttings? 

3. What parts of plants may be used as cuttings, which are the 

most common? 

4. How are cuttings classified? 

5. What principles are involved in growing plants from cuttings? 

6. Describe the callusing bed and how used. 

7. Give the various kinds of cuttings. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 129 

8. Explain the use, preparation and treatment of the following 

kinds of cuf tings: 

(a) Single Eye Cutting. 

(b) Simple Cutting. 

(c) Heel Cutting. 

(d) Mallet Cutting. 

(e) Root CuttiQg. 

(/) Nurfee Root Cutting. 
(g) Tip Cutting. 
(h) Softwood Cutting. 
(i) Truncheon. 

9. Review the general importance of cuttings in nursery work. 
10. Compare cuttiags with grafting or buddiag as to vigor, pro- 
ductiveness, etc. 



CHAPTER VII 
THE AFTER TREATMENT OF NURSERY STOCK 

Whether or not a desirable nursery tree can be pro- 
duced in one or two years from the bud or graft will depend 
upon two things: first, the particular kind of fruit and 
second, upon the length of the growing season. Where the 
average length of the growing season runs from ninety 
to one hundred and twenty days, two years will be neces- 
sary for most lands. This would include most of the region 
of the United States lying north of the cities of New York, 
Chicago and Denver. South of these cities the season is 
long enough that all of the more rapid-growing fruits will 
develop in one year from bud. Even such trees as the Per- 
sian Walnut will often grow from six to nine feet in a single 
year from grafts. This would seem at first thought to give 
the south a big advantage in the economy with which 
the work can be done. While this may be true in specific 
cases, the advantages are more than offset by the greater 
number of insects and diseases that have to be contended 
with. 

Stunmer Culture. The culture of nursery trees does 
not differ in any material way from many of the farm 
crops. Clean cultivation is necessary. All weeds are 
kept out and the soil stirred enough to conserve the mois- 
ture. The most important part of the work is to make 
the young trees keep a steady and regular growth through- 

130 



SUMMER CULTURE 



131 



out the season. A stunted tree is always undersized, lack- 
ing in vigor and more subject to attacks of insects and fun- 
gus diseases. In most sections of the United States there 
is always danger of a dry period some time in August or 
September. Where this condition is present and moisture 
becomes scarce, the trees receive a check in their growth 




Fig. 60. — ^A Gasoline Tractor used for Cultivation. 



which may result in the formation of terminal buds indi- 
cating the passing of the tree into a dormant stage. Where 
this occurs before the close of the normal-growing season 
a late rain may again start growth, which is always unde- 
sirable, producing a weak and abnormal condition. Such 
trees as may have this extra growth can easily be detected 
by the formation of the terminal bud rings with a few inches 
of lighter colored wood beyond. 



132 THE AFTER TREATMENT OE^ NURSERY STOCK 

Heading Back. This is a process of cutting off the 
tips of the young trees, in order to force more lateral 
branches and develop a more stocky trunk. Such fruits 
as peaches, apricots and cherries may grow so late into the 
fall that winter injury may result. The heading back 
checks this, besides giving a uniform height to all the 




Fig. 61, — Cultivating Seventy Acres a Day by Gasoline Power. 

trees. The pome fruits are not usually given this treat- 
ment. The operation is performed with an ordinary pruning 
shears. The operator walks along the row clipping the 
tops almost as fast as he can walk. 

Trimming Up. Practically all nursery trees have the 
lower branches removed to a height of sixteen or eighteen 
inches when sold. This makes a neater looking tree and 
one that is easier to handle in shipping. The lower branches 



SPRAYING 133 

are of no consequence to the tree, as they are weak and often 
poorly developed, due to the shading by the higher branches. 
Most nursery trees are grown very close together, often 
no more than two or three inches apart in the row. After 
growth is well under way Httle sunshine gets through the 
thick tops and the bottom branches are starved for the 
want of food. This results in tall straight trees which 
so dehght the nurserymen. If the young plants were 
allowed more room they would develop larger lateral 
branches, the trunks would be less straight, the tree would 
be oversized and in every way less desirable for a good 
orchard tree. The trimming of the trunks is done near the 
close of the growing season, leaving only a short time 
for the healing of the wounds before the trees are dug. 
A heavy knife with a curved blade is used for the pruning 
work. The operator works from the ground upward with 
short heavy strokes which require the use of both hands. 

Spraying. The nurseryman, Hke the fruit-grower, is 
troubled with numerous insect pests and fungus diseases. 
These must be controlled by careful attention to spray- 
ing. Probably the worst of all the troubles of this kind 
would be the San Jose scale and the Root Knot. Plant 
lice sometimes become serious, while thrips and the 
yellow or red mites are frequently troublesome in the more 
arid regions of the southwest. The San Jose scale and the 
Root Knot are especially bad from the ease with which 
they may be carried with the nursery stock and spread 
over the country wherever the stock may be shipped. 
The former may be controlled by dormant sprays and 
isolation of infected areas, while the latter is a bacterial 



134 THE AFTER TREATMENT OF NURSERY STOCK 

disease and not amenable to spray treatments. Moreover 
the disease may remain in the soil from year to year and 
reinfect the succeeding plantings. 

In former years where these troubles were less marked, 
there were no restrictions on the shipping of the stock, 
and as a result, many troubles were spread far and wide 
over the country. Now, most states have regulatory 
measures and nursery companies must submit their stock 
to a rigid inspection by some state official before it can be 
shipped. The Government also has official inspectors 
to regulate interstate shipments, and quarantine offices 
to look after stock that may be imported. While this 
work is recognized as being efficient in preventing the 
shipping of diseased stock, still, there is always a possible 
danger. 

Spray Machines. Nursery work requires a special kind 
of spray outfit. Such an equipment must work rapidly, 
must cover several rows at once and be able to do the work 
while moving across the field. In many cases it is neces- 
sary to get the spray down along the trunk when the tops 
are very close and thick. Any machine that would be large 
enough to pass over the tops of the trees without damag- 
ing them, could not help but be awkward and unwieldy. 
Many types of such sprayers have been devised but the one 
shown in Fig. 62 has been worked successfully for a num- 
ber of years. It was manufactured by the Greening 
Nursery Company of Munroe, Michigan, and will success- 
fully spray the trees from ground to tips. 

Counting the Trees. It is always desirable that nur- 
serymen have an estimate of the number of salable trees 



[COUNTING THE TREES 



135 



some time before they are ready to dig. Not all the trees 
will be good ones and those that have crooked trunks or are 
deformed in any way must be discarded. Those that are 
good go into different grades according to their height or 
degree of perfection. The counting is usually done with 
a small mechanical device which records the results auto- 





t 



Fig. 62.— a Successful Nursery Spray Outfit. 

matically. The operator walks along the row and as he 
glances at the trees he pulls the trips on the machine ac- 
cording to his estimate of the grade of the trees. With a 
little training one may count the trees and place them in 
grades as fast as one can walk. This estimate of the num- 
ber of salable trees is turned into the office where they 
are segregated and turned over to the sales force, or pub- 
lished in the catalog. 



136 THE AFTER TREATMENT OF NURSERY STOCK 



Digging the Trees. In the faU the trees that are old 
enough to sell must be removed from the ground and placed 
in a storage house, where they can be graded and packed 
for shipping during the winter months. In a home nur- 




FiG. 63. — Steam Tree Digger in which the Share is Drawn by a Cable 
Pulled from a Stationary Engine and Drum. 

sery, this digging is done with a spade, but where the nimi- 
ber runs to only a few thousands this method is impracti- 
cal. However, the spade is a poor tool and often severely 
damages the roots of the trees. 

There are three kinds of mechanical diggers in use in 
various parts of the country. The cheaper and more com- 



PULLING 137 

mon one is a special plow pulled by horses. This plow 
contains two beams, one on each side of the row. These 
are connected by a special U-shaped share which runs 
under the row cutting off the roots from sixteen to eighteen 
inches below the surface of the ground. The share does 
not hft the trees but passes on under them leaving them 
upright in their original position but loose enough that 
one man may easily pull them out. The other two types 
of diggers differ mainly in the kind of power used. Where 
steam power is used the engine is stationary, and the share 
is pulled across the field with wire cables. This method 
makes it necessary to plant the trees in blocks of only a 
few hundred feet across so that the cables will not be too 
long. It is also necessary to carry the share back each 
time as it will dig the trees only one way across the field. 
More recently gasohne tractors have been designed for this 
purpose with far better results than either of the other 
methods. With the steam outfit illustrated in Fig. 63 
seven men are required for the operation, while with the 
tractor two men will do the same work and the trees can 
be dug both ways across the field. Long rows can be 
handled as easily as the short ones. As many as five to 
ten thousand trees an hour may be dug with one of these 
machines. 

Pulling. After the digger has passed under the rows 
the next step is to pull out the trees and place them in piles 
ready for hauling to the storage shed. The trees are lifted 
out, the soil shaken from the roots, and a hasty examina- 
tion made for root knct or defects that would spoil the 
sale of the plant. The poor ones are discarded and the good 



138 THE AFTER TREATMENT OF NURSERY STOCK 

ones are placed in piles of twenty-five or thirty each. These 
are followed by the wagon or truck which picks up the 
bundles and carries them to the storage sheds or fumiga- 
ting house. The trees are piled on the wagons like loads 
of hay, placing the roots alternately to the outside of the 
load. The loader uses rubber-soled shoes and walks on 
the tops of the trees so very little damage is done. Care- 




FiG. 64. — Pulling the Trees After the Digger Has Passed. 



lessness in loading or handling may peel the bark from the 
trunk which makes the tree unfit for use. 

Fumigation. In many states the fumigatioQ of all 
nursery stock is required by law. In such states, the work 
is usually done while the trees are on the trucks enroute 
to the storage sheds. Special air-tight buildings are re- 
quired for this work. They are usually just large enough 
to hold one truckload of trees. As they come from the 



STOEAGE SHEDS 139 

field they are driven into these sheds, the team removed, 
the building closed up and the trees exposed to the fumes 
of hydro-cyanic acid gas. This is used primarily against 
the scale insects and has httle or no effect upon any of the 
fungus troubles. The process is always attended with 
some danger as the gas is extremely poisonous. It re- 




FiG. 65. — Hauling the Trees to the Storage House. 

quires from twenty to thirty minutes to fumigate a load 
of trees. 

Storage Sheds. Where nursery trees are grown to any 
considerable extent, some arrangement will be necessary 
whereby the trees can be graded and packed for shipment 
during the winter months. Where the winters are too 
disagreeable to work out in the open, sheds must be pro- 
vided. In the colder states these must be built substan- 
tial enough to hold a large number of trees and sufficiently 



140 THE AFTER TREATMENT OF NURSERY STOCK 

well insulated against the cold that the men may work 
comfortably. The majority of such buildings consist 
mainly of walls and roof as the floors are mostly of dirt. 
The interior is divided off into stalls or apartments by the 
posts or pillars that support the roof. 




Fig. 66. — A Fumigating Building with Load of Trees Ready for the 

Gas. 

As the trees are brought in from the field or fumigating 
house they are placed in these stalls. The bundles are 
tiered to a height of eight or ten feet, placing the roots to 
the outside the same as they were loaded on the truck. 
Narrow alleys are left when needed for the men to make 
examinations from time to time. The sections are filled, 
with single varieties and no effort is made to label the 



GEADING 



141 



bundles until after they are regraded. Where the roots 
are exposed to the open air they are covered with moss, 
chaff or some material that will hold moisture and keep 
them from drying out. These stalls are examined occa- 
sionally and if there is any signs of drying out they are 
sprinkled with a hose. It is important that the roots 




Fig. 67. — ^Trees as Stored in Cellars Previous to Grading. 



remain fresh and moist until they are again planted in some- 
one's orchard. Many nursery companies in the Gulf 
states or in California are able to dispense with these 
sheds, and instead, the trees are heeled-in out in the open 
where they are graded and packed for shipping. 

Grading. After the trees have all been dug and stored 
for the winter the process of grading and labelling begins. 
The storage sheds are large enough that the stalls of trees 



142 THE AFTEE TREATMENT OF NURSERY STOCK 

may be taken down, graded and labelled and restored in 
another part of the building. Here all the different varie- 
ties are collected in ricks so placed that the orders may 
be conveniently filled. All the trees are examined by ex- 
perts and those not suited for selhng, or those that arc 
nijured in any way are thrown out. The ones that are 




Fig. 68. — ^Trees in Ricks Ready for Filling Orders. 



passed are taken to another grading table and sorted into 
grades or classes according to the size. The trees are 
placed in bundles of twenty-five each, pressed together 
and tied. A label is now placed on each bundle for future 
identification. Considerable skill is necessary to make 
a neat and attractive bundle. Where the trees are budded 
the slight curve at the union is turned so they all set in the 
same relative position, making a close compact bundle. 



GEADES OF TEEES— SALES METHOD 143 

Grades of Trees. The term grade as applied to nur= 
sery trees is somewhat of a misnomer as it infers that some 
trees are better than others. What is really meant, is 
classes into which the trees are divided according to their 
size or caliper. Most grades are based on the height of 
the trees although some few companies also list the trunk 
diameter. It should not be inferred that a number one 
tree or a first-grade tree is the best to buy for orchard work. 
It often happens that this grade represents oversized trees 
which may be less desirable than the number twos or 
second-grade trees. 

Most nursery companies list four grades or sizes of trees. 
Three of these usually represent stock two years from 
buds while the fourth is only one year's growth. A fair 
average of the different companies would represent a classi- 
fication about as follows: 

Grade 1 or Class 1 or X, 2 years from bud; 5 to 6 feet. 

'' 2 '' 2 " XX,2 " " 4to5 " 

''3 " 3 '' XXX, 2 " " 3 to 4 " 

" 4 " 4 " XXXX, 1 " '' 3 to 4 " 

Sales Methods. Nursery companies that have to 
dispose of from one to two million trees annually have to 
develop a particularly strong sales force. There are but 
three channels through which the bulk of the stock reaches 
the orchardist. The oldest and probably the most common 
is through agents scattered over the various fruit sections. 
The second is the direct selling to the grower through the 
medium of the catalogue or what may be called a mail- 
order business. The third is the wholesaling to the jobbers 



144 THE AFTER TREATMENT OF NURSERY STOCK 




Fig. 69.— One-year Old Apple Grafts. A, 3 to 4 feet; 
B, 4 to 5 feet. 



SUB-AGENTS— CATALOG SELLING 145 

or small dealers. In only special cases do companies have 
salaried salesmen to call on the trade. 

Sub-Agents. It is the policy of many companies to 
secure in each local fruit section a competent agent who 
wiU call upon the fruit men and solicit their business. These 
agents work on a commission which usually represents 
about forty per cent of the retail price of the trees. They 
are furnished with descriptive matter and order blanks 
which are filled in and forwarded to the company as fast 
as business is secured. These agents spend the winter in 
canvassing their territory and in the spring look after the 
delivery of the trees and make the collections. Where 
such agents are rehable and trustworthy men the plan is 
highly successful, especially in sections where fruit growing 
is not highly developed. They often help the general 
farmer in selecting a few trees for family use and may 
stimulate to an active interest a desire for fruit that has 
been lying dormant, purely from the lack of ability to make 
the initial effort. It is no unkindness to persuade a general 
farnier to buy a few trees for home use provided the trees 
are rehable and suited to the local conditions. Such agents 
should be well known in their own community, they should 
be wilHng to furnish references for themselves and the 
company for which they are working at any time, and they 
should not ask for any money until the trees are dehvered. 

Catalog Selling. The present trend of the business is 
to deal more directly with the companies and less through 
sub-agents. Fruitmen who are well versed in the business 
do not care to listen to the tales of the agents. They repre- 
sent, for the most part, a more intelligent class and prefer 



146 THE AFTER TREATMENT OF NURSERY STOCK 

to investigate a number of companies before placing their 
order. Many college man are going into the fruit business 
and as a rule they are quite certain of just what they 
want. Nursery companies are well aware of these condi- 
tions and utilize their best efforts to get out catalogs 
that are true and accurate and will convey the information 
that the buyer w^ants. There are still many catalogs 
issued that are gaudy imitations of the real thing but few 
buyers are fooled by them. 

A good catalog is well illustrated by photographs: 
they deceive less than the pen drawings. The descrip- 
tions are ample, often more so than necessary. Methods of 
propagation and the various tools used are often depicted 
which increases the interest and knowledge of the reader. 
Great mysteries and secret processes are no longer included. 
Companies realize that the catalogs represent them as 
their salesmen and in order to continue in business the goods 
that are delivered must be an exact duplication of the de- 
scriptions in the books. Good catalogs are expensive 
and it is not uncommon to invest from twenty to forty 
thousand dollars annually in their publication. 

The prospective buyer who places his order from the 
study of catalogs, likes to have those from a dozen or more 
different companies to select from. He reads over care- 
fully what each one has to say, draws his own conclusions 
and makes his own selections. Often his opinions are the 
result of his own experiments or inferences may be drawn 
from the study of government or state bulletins. In any 
case his judgment is apt to be quite correct and nursery- 
men like to cater to his opinions. 



JOBBERS OR DEALERS— OFFICE ROUTINE 147 

Jobbers or Dealers. In years gone by these people 
were looked on with suspicion. Times when laws were less 
strict and the buyers more trusting, much bad material 
was distributed among farmers. The jobber was often a 
newcomer in a local section. He would deal in trees for a 
few years and then vanish. Particularly about the time 
his first sales came into bearing. He had no reputation 
to maintain and it sometimes happened that a nursery 
company would sell to a jobber what the company would not 
care to sell to a grower; especially stipulating to the jobber 
that he should not disclose the source of his trees. All 
orders for all kinds of fruit were not infrequently made to 
order by the simple device of placing a label. 

At the present time the situation is fairly well taken 
care of by the restrictive laws which safeguard the interests 
of the fruit grower. Only rehable firms are becoming 
dealers and the stranger that calls at the door of the grower 
is often asked embarrassing questions. His license to 
sell, the source of the stock he is offering and the inspection 
certificate issued by the proper state officials are some of 
the things that the buyer wants to know. Large nur- 
sery companies are now inchned to celebrate with large 
bonfires what were formerly the chief source of revenue 
to the nursery jobber. 

Office Routine. This resolves itself into the most 
economic way of keeping records so the least possible 
number of mistakes will be made. The details of the busi- 
ness are legion. The possibihty of error is far greater than 
for almost any other kind of work. The danger of using 
the wrong buds or cions, the possible mixing of varieties 



148 THE AFTER TREATMENT OF NURSERY STOCK 

when transferring to the storage sheds, the placing of the 
wrong label when the grading is done, clerical errors in the 
accounting department, and again, possible mistakes in the 
filling of the orders are just a few of the things that worry 
the manager of a nursery. Also the knowledge that any 
of these errors may be interpreted as criminal carelessness 
contributes no small amount to his troubles. 

In this connection only a few of the fundamental prin- 
ciples involved can be cited. Order blanks, sufficient for 
the needs of most orders are sent out with each catalog. 
Full and detailed instructions are given wherever possible. 
When the order is received by the company it is copied 
in triplicate and a copy returned to the buyer. This 
passes as an acknowledgment and a receipt of the order. 
The buyer is further instructed to examine the copy and if 
it is not as desired to report at once. The original is sent 
to the order clerk, v/here it is filled, boxed up and made ready 
to ship when the proper season arrives. When the goods 
are shipped the original copy goes with the bill of lading 
for the buyer's use in comparing with the order. The 
third copy is kept in the office of the company for refer- 
ence in case any mistake is made. 

In spite of all these precautions errors will appear, and 
the buyer having little idea of the magnitude of the business 
often becomes caustic in his letters of inquiry. He creates 
countless trouble for the company by failing to mention 
the number on the order or to explain just what is missing. 
It often becomes necessary to sort out the complainant's 
order from fifty thousand others on the name and address 
alone. Then the company has to write back to ask just 



FILLING THE ORDERS 



149 



what was missing and what the trouble was all about. 
It is only fair to say that the nursery companies are just 
as anxious as the buyers are to see that all mistakes are 
properly corrected and a simple letter of inquiry stating 
the facts is usually all that is necessary. 




Fig. 70. — Packing Nursery Stock for Shipment. 



Filling the Orders. The first four months of each year 
are the busy ones with nurseries. This is the rush time 
when all the orders are placed in packages ready for ship- 
ment when the proper season arrives. All orders are booked 
and filled in the order received. Those that come early 



150 THE AFTER TREATMENT OF NURSERY STOCK 

in the season get the pick of the stock. When one variety 
is sold out those who order late must go without or allow 
substitution. In order to keep track of the varieties, the 
total salable stock is carefully counted and as fast as the 
orders come in each variety is subtracted from the total. 
When the supply is exhausted the rest of the purchasers are 
notified. If the order is placed early, ample time is given 
to arrange with some other company. 

Nursery stock may be packed in boxes, in bundles or 
is sometimes shipped loose in carloads to the sub-agents 
where they are distributed to the buyers. The important 
thing is that the trees shall reach the buyer with the roots 
in a moist and fresh condition. The roots are packed in 
moss or chaff and then covered with burlap to keep them 
from drying out. Those that are to go south are shipped 
first, and then as the season advances the ones that go 
north are started. There is no special advantage over the 
bale or the box. Probably large orders can best be handled 
in the latter. Whatever packing material can be used with 
the greatest economy is the one to have. When the stock 
leaves the hands of the company, even though handled 
under the very best possible conditions, no guarantee can 
be given as to the future success of the trees. This must 
rest with the buyer, which is another story. 

REVIEW QUESTIONS 

1. What nursery trees are usually grown in one year from bud 

or graft? What ones in two years? 

2. How does this vary in the northern and southern states? 

3. What summer culture is necessary for budded stock? 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 151 

4. What is " heading back," its purpose and how done? 

5. What trimming or pruning is required of nursery stock? How 

done? 

6. What insect and fungus troubles are liable to affect nursery 

trees? What are the dangers? 

7. What are the essentials of a good nursery spraying machine? 

8. How are trees counted before digging and the purpose of the 

count? 

9. Describe the process of tree digging and the various machines 

used. 

10. What is the pulling process? How is it done? 

11. How are nursery trees fumigated and what troubles is it sup- 

posed to control? 

12. Describe a modern tree storage shed. 

13. How are nursery trees graded? 

14. What are the principal grades and what do they stand for? 

15. What are the usual methods for selling trees? 

16. Describe the sub-agent and his methods. 

17. How are trees sold from catalogs? 

18. What are the essentials of a good catalog? 

19. Discuss the nursery jobber and his methods. 

20. Mention some of the essentials in the office routine of a nur- 

sery company. 

21. How are orders filled? What packages are used? 

22. What are the necessary conditions for shipping live trees? 



CHAPTER VIII 
SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

Pedigree Nursery Stock. This is a much abused and 
a much misunderstood term. To the nurseryman it 
means one thing and to the scientist another. To the 
former it is interpreted to mean the careful selection of 
buds or cions from strong, vigorous healthy trees. It 
implies that extra efforts are made to make the trees true 
to name and represent the best strains of any particular 
variety. To the scientist, the term conveys the same 
meaning aa it does when used in connection with animal 
breeding. It is our purpose to analyze these various uses 
and to see if some term cannot be found which may be 
accepted as a common definition. 

The term " Pedigree/' as used in nursery work, has no 
foundation for a comparison with animal breeding. The 
two processes have no biological relation. The one involves 
the mating of individuals which makes the progeny sub- 
ject to all the laws of heredity; the other is simply the 
continuation of the same individual by dividing it into 
numerous pieces and growing them to maturity. It is 
somewhat unfortunate that the same word should have 
different meanings when applied to different subjects, but 
this is not uncommon in the English language. 

As to the much argued question: " Is pedigreed stock 
152 



PEDIGEEE NURSEEY STOCK 153 

of any value/' the answer is unquestionably in the affirma- 
tive. There has been much carelessness in the past among 
nurserymen in putting out trees that were not true-to- 
name. When an effort was begun to cut buds from trees 
whose records were known, the term " pedigree " became 
the natural means of advertising that effort. Most nur- 
serymen have no intension of applying the meaning of the 
term to a better performance record for their trees, although 
there is sufficient evidence for that claim. Some scientists 
have argued that there is no foundation for the assertion 
that one bud on a particular tree may produce better results 
than another, but the evidence is to the contrary. 

It will only be necessary in this connection to cite a 
few well recognized examples. Growers of geraniums, 
carnations and chrysanthemums have to continuously 
select their cuttings from bearing shoots in order to keep 
up the production of numerous flowers. Orange growers 
are not only selecting buds for propagation from trees with 
known records, but often from a particular branch of one 
of these trees. The vigor of particular varieties of fruit 
is most easily perpetuated by bud selection. Two Bald- 
win apple trees may vary widely in their ability to be 
strong pollenizers and this character is perpetuated by bud 
selection. A certain strain of pecans and Persian walnuts 
grown in the northern part of the United States are much 
more resistant to frost than others grown farther south. 
This quality is passed on by the use of buds or cions. When 
growing side by side, the Elberta peach which for several 
generations grew in northern Michigan blossomed several 
days earlier than the Elberta peach grown in California. 



154 



SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 



Double Working. This is a practice used to a limited 
extent by nurserymen in order to adapt varieties to special 




rsk A* Original 
i^C French 
-^ ^ Stock 



Fig. 71. — Double-worked Nursery Trees. Original " French 
Crab " Root. 



conditions. It means that the variety is grafted or budded 
on two different stocks instead of one. The first graft or 



INFLUENCE OF STOCK ON CION 155 

bud is made in the usual way and then later a second bud- 
ding is done. The process takes a year longer to grow a 
desirable tree and adds considerable to the expense of 
the work, yet the results often warrant the extra effort. 
The Baldwin apple grown in Maine is more resistant to 
the severe winter conditions when double worked on the 
Tolman Sweet. The Grimes Golden of the central states 
is increased in vigor and productiveness by double work- 
ing. The Stark Brothers Nurseries use many nurse root 
cuttings of the Northern Spy and Stark Dehcious apples 
because of their resistance to the woolly aphis. The 
cuttings are made long so they will eventually develop the 
major part of the root system. 

Fruit trees that have weak or crooked trunks may be 
strengthened by double working. The Winter Nellis pear 
is an example of this land. A good strong grower like 
the Kieffer is used for the main trunk, then the V/inter 
Nellis is budded into the branches. Another feature of this 
practice is the shortening of the time required for trees to 
come into bearing. Apples that require from eight to ten 
years to produce fruit will bear in five to eight by double 
working. Pecan trees which have required twenty years to 
fruit as seedlings have been made to bear in ten by double 
working. The practice; however, is not recommended in- 
discriminately but only to fit the fruits into special condi- 
tions. 

Influence of Stock on Cion. Every fruit grower knows 
that the kind of stock on which the fruit is grafted may pro- 
duce a marked influence upon the resulting tree or fruit. 
But to what extent these influences represent fixed or 



156 



SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 



dependable qualities is still an open question. The best 
recognized example of this influence is the dwarfing of cer- 
tain standard fruits when worked on smaller stature plants. 
Thus apples are worked upon doucine or paradise stock, 
or pears upon the quince for this purpose. Peaches are 




Fig, 72. — Almond Grafted on Peach. Tree forty-two years old. 
Measures in circumference nine feet one mch above the union and 
ten feet 4 inches below. 



dwarfed by working them on the common American plum 
while oranges and lemons are put on the citron. 

While slow-growing stocks tend to reduce the stature 
of plants grafted upon them, the converse of this is also 
true, although probably to a lesser degree. While the quince 
as a stock will dwarf the pear the reversing of the process 
will tend to increase the stature of the quince. The French 



INFLUENCE OF STOCK ON CION 



157 



crabapple commonly used as the stock for apples, is not 
a particularly large tree; yet in many cases if not in all, 
the more vigorous cions have stimulated the root system 
of the stock to a larger size than it would normally grow. 




Fig. 73.— a Tree from the Same Orchard as Fig. 72. Measures 
six feet six inches above and nine feet seven inches below^ 
making a difference in circumference of three feet one inch. 

Peaches grafted on Myrobalan plum stock produce a larger 
root system than would develop if ungrafted. 

Occasionally, instances are cited where both stock and 
cion are stimulated to a growth far greater than either 
would develop by themselves. Almonds grafted on peaches 
have developed a circumference of a little less than ten feet 
(Fig. 72), while the maximum size of either, growing alone, 



158 



SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 



would be scarcely five feet. Where almonds are grafted 
on plum stock, the reverse is true (Fig. 74). Where the 




Fig. 74. — Almond on Plum Stock. Tree same age as Figs. 72 and 73. 
Circumference four feet below the union and four feet ten inches 
above. These trees were sickly and many of them had died. 



union comes above ground there is almost always an in- 
crease in size at the point where the two parents are joined. 
Whichever parent represents the larger plant that part of 



INFLUENCE OF STOCK ON CION 



159 



the union will be larger. This is well illustrated in Figs. 
72, 73 and 74. 

Another influence of stock over cion is the early 
bearing tendency of dwarfed trees. Orchardists every- 
where recognize this factor and utilize it in a practical way. 
Pears on quince stock will fruit in three or four years while 
the standard stock requires from five to eight years. Apples 




Fig. 75. — ^Cross Section through Union of Grafts. A and C, peach on 
almond; B, Enghsh wahiut on black. The union is apparently 
as strong as any other part of the tree. 

on paradise stock will fruit in three years while the same 
variety on French " crab " will require from five to eight 
years. In almost every case, this early bearing habit 
is associated with the dwarfing condition. Also in thisj 
same connection it is well to note that dwarfed trees are 
shorter lived than their full statured relatives. 

Various other known conditions are attributed to this 



160 SOME GENEEAL CONSIDERATIONS 

reciprocal influence of grafts. For example, peaches or 
almonds may be retarded in their blooming period by work- 
ing them on certain varieties of plums. Blossoms appear 
on plums from one to two weeks later than the almond. 
Where plum stock has been tried the delay has been 
about one-half the difference between the two blooming 
periods. In a similar way the maturity of certain varieties 
of plums may be hastened by working them on early 
varieties of peaches; although it is doubtful if this would 
ever be difference enough to be made use of in a practical 
way. 

Color and flavor of fruits rs also influenced more or less 
by the stock used, but the results are not so easily measured 
or so well understood. There. apparently is no question 
but that high colored fruits can be improved by grafting 
on seedlings grown from high colored fruits. This, however, 
ic more or less an indefinite quantity, as the seedhngs 
themselves may vary widely in their abihty to transmit 
the high color. Results are more noticeable when seedlings 
from Siberian crabs are used, because they are more stable. 

What is true of color is also true of the sugar and acid 
content of the fruit. Apples low in sugar when grafted 
on sweet apple trees will show an increase in sugar content. 
Undoubtedly, some of the poor color and lack of quahty 
in certain regions, attributed to local environment, may be 
due to the influence of the stock on which they are grafted. 
Claims have been made that the Baldwin apple after being 
grafted through several generations on the Tolman Sweet 
has developed a high sugar content. 

As the stock may affect the maturity of the fruit so also 



INFLUENCE OF STOCK ON CION 161 

may it affect the keeping quality. The Duchess apple 
when top-worked on the Ben Davis will keep from four 
to six weeks longer than the same apple worked on the 
common stock. 

The cause of these varied influences may be attributed to 
two sources — namely, mechanical and physiological dis- 
turbances. This can more easily be understood when we 
think of the cell as being the plant unit. Each cell performs 
its own functions. Theoretically the cells of the stock 
perform all those functions characteristic of the stock, 
up to the point of the union. Then the cells of the other 
co-parent take up the work from that point and modify 
the processes, in accordance with their own peculiar char- 
acter. While there is a rather wide division of labor in 
the functioning powers of the cells of the different organs, 
there is a more or less definite protoplasmic organization 
throughout the entire plant tissue. Certain cell sub- 
stances such as sugar may be differently affected by the cells 
of each of the co-parents. If the cells of the stock are 
capable of developing a higher sugar content than the cion, 
presumably the cells of the latter will not reduce it, hence 
an increase or decrease in the acid or sugar content is in- 
fluenced by the stock. Of course this is relatively a very 
small amount and were it not the case the entire purpose 
of graftage would be lost. 

In the case of dwarfed stock the cause is more mechanical. 
The root system of the slow growing plant is incapable of 
supplying sap as fast as the more rapidly-growing top 
demands, hence a reduction in size. Conversely the de- 
mands of the actively growing top stimulate the root 



162 SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

system to a greater effort, thus causing an increase in the 
size of the stock. 

The early bearing habit of dwarfed trees may be ex- 
plained on the theory that the diminished supply of sap 
tends to weaken the whole tree. Now the object of every 
plant, one may say, is to reproduce its kind; and when 
it finds itself weakening it seems to hasten this process of 
reproduction, in order to make sure that it may leave 
progeny before it dies. The dwarfed and weakened trees 
thus blossom and set fruit before their normal mates; 
and are correspondingly shorter lived, due to this weaken- 
ing, in consequence of the mechanical restriction of the 
food supply. 

Hardiness in Nursery Stock. Many questions are being 
asked at the present time if it is advisable to buy nursery 
stock a considerable distance from where it is to be planted, 
and especially if stock grown in the south is as resistant as 
northern grown stock to the rigorous winter conditions. 
While no specific experiments appear to have been tried 
to determine this point many observations from practical 
experience have been made. Nursery trees of every kind 
have been shipped far and wide and have therefore been 
tried under all kinds of conditions. Insofar as hardiness 
is concerned there appears to be no difference due to the 
locality in which the tree may be grown. 

There are other considerations, however, which often 
make it advisable to secure stock as near as possible to the 
place where it is to be planted. The danger of introducing 
insects and diseases is greater when buying from a distance, 
and there is less chance to become personally acquainted 



HORTICULTURAL NOVELTIES 163 

with the company, and the environmental conditions often 
make the tree unsuited to its new surroundings. The 
added cost of freight, danger of delay in transit and the 
possibihty of the stock drying out are some of the objec- 
tions to buying at long range. Increased hardiness among 
fruit trees can only be secured by breeding and selection, 
and when once produced can only be maintained by vege- 
tative propagation. It should be understood, in this con- 
nection, that the hardiness or the resistance of any variety 
to the various troubles may be increased by working them 
on different roots. But if using the same root it does not 
matter in what part of the country the tree may be grown. 

Horticultural Novelties. Due credit must be given to 
the nursery companies for their efforts in finding and 
introducing new and valuable varieties of fruits and flowers. 
It is true that many new plants have been introduced 
which have no particular merit, but it is also true that 
many of our most valuable varieties have come through 
the nursery companies. The motives which have actuated 
these companies in introducing new plants have been 
mostly financial, although many of them are spending 
time and money simply because they are interested and 
without any thought of remuneration. Among the present 
workers in the nursery business are many college-trained 
men. Their scientific training together with their abundant 
practical knowledge especially fits them to be leaders in 
this kind of work. 

Some men like Burbank devote their entire energies 
to the creation of new kinds and then sell the right to 
introduce them to other companies. Some companies 



164 SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

maintain a scientific staff for the purpose of breeding new 
types, or to experiment with old varieties in order to better 
adapt them to pecuhar or specific conditions. Most com- 
panies are always on the lookout for new and strange types 
or forms which may become a valuable novelty. They are 
trained to be keen observers and as they travel over the 
country they see many interesting things which the lay- 
man would pass by unnoticed. 

By far the greater majority of novelties are discovered 
by accident. Some orchardist finds a seedhng growing 
in his garden. He transfers it to his orchard with the 
intention of later grafting it into a desirable variety. This 
task is neglected and the tree grows up and bears desir- 
able fruit. Thousand of seedlings are growing every- 
where and it is not strange that some of them may be an 
improvement on existing varieties. A sample of the fruit 
is saved and sent to the nurseryman, he examines it and 
becomes interested. Correspondence follows, later a visit 
is made to the tree to study its vigor and productiveness; 
a contract is drawn giving the company the exclusive right 
to propagate and sell the fruit. A number of cions are cut, 
a few trees are propagated and planted in their trial orchard. 
If they appear desirable the variety is named and sent out 
to the public. All this consumes from five to eight years 
and it is only reasonable to expect that a higher price 
should be asked. 

Many new plants are now coming, through the activ- 
ities of the department of plant introductions of the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture. Nursery companies are always 
willing to cooperate in the testing of these introductions. 



NUESERY INSPECTION LAWS 165 

Few of them are found valuable but all have an equal chance 
in their dissemination. The state experiment stations 
and the trial grounds of the various Agricultural Colleges 
offer an efficient check against any imposition on the people 
by the nursery companies. They make it their busi- 
ness to secure samples of all novelties as soon as offered 
to the trade and grow them in their trial grounds. If 
they fall too far short of the claims made by the intro- 
ducers the pubHc is notified through the medium of the 
press. 

Nursery Inspection Laws. Every state in the union 
now has some kind of a law for the purpose of preventing 
the shipping of nursery stock infested with insects or fun- 
gus troubles. Not every disease or insect is serious enough 
to cause the destruction of the stock but a number are, 
which makes the regulatory measures necessary. Prac- 
tically all of these state laws are patterned after the same 
general plan. All companies intending to sell stock either 
in their own state or other states must file their intentions 
with the proper state ofiicial and make application for 
inspection of their stock. The officer in charge of this 
work varies considerably in the different states. In some 
the State Horticulturist does the inspection, in others the 
Commissioner of Agriculture, in some it is in charge of the 
Agricultural Colleges, while in one or two cases State Ento- 
mologists do the work. 

The work of inspection consists mostly in the visiting 
of each nursery once or twice during the year and making 
a close examination for insects or fungus troubles. If the 
stock is found clean, an official certificate is given which 



166 SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

is the nurseryman's authority for making the shipments. 
Every package that is sent out must contain one of these 
certificates of inspection. These are not necessarily vaHd 
for interstate shipments. Every state reserves the right 
to reinspect all nursery stock shipped in from outside. 
Certificates that are good in one state may or may not be 
acceptable in others. The only sure way is for the shipper 
to secure copies of the law in states in which he intends 
to do business and inform himself on the requirements 
before attempting to make any deliveries. 

The insect pests or diseases that will prevent the ship- 
ping or selling of stock vary somewhat in the different states 
but the chief ones are the following: 

Insects Diseases 

Brown tail moth. Black knot of cherry and plum. 

Gypsy moth. Crown gall. 

Mexican cotton-boll weevil. Hairy root. 

San Jose scale. Rosette of peach and plum. 

West Indian peach scale. Yellows of peach. 

Woolly aphis. White pine blister rust. 

In the northern states some of these are of no particular 
consequence while further south some that are not on the 
above list are included. In Florida the Mango Weevel 
and the Fruit Fly are among the troublesome ones. 

Federal Horticultural Boardc The regulatory measures 
passed by the various states are not all of the laws with which 
the dealers or growers of nursery stock have to contend. 
There have been certain questions pertaining to the impor- 
tation of plants from other countries and the quarantining 
of certain areas to prevent the spread of diseases, which could 



FEDERAL HORTICULTURAL BOARD 167 

only be handled by the Federal Government. To pro- 
vide for this need Congress in 1912 passed the '' Plant 
Quarantine Act " and established the " Federal Horti- 
cultural Board." This Board is in charge of five men drawn 
from the Bureau of Plant Industry, the Bureau of Forestry 
and the Bureau of Entomology. 

The aim of the Quarantine Act was to enable the govern- 
ment to prevent the introduction of dangerous plant dis- 
eases or insect pests and to prevent the spread of serious 
infestations to new territory. The Secretary of Agricul- 
ture was given far reaching power in the making of rules 
and regulations which might be applied to almost any 
contingency that might arise. This application may 
extend to every kind of living plants, excepting only field, 
flower and vegetable seed and the more common bulbs. 

The members of the Board are empowered to make 
rules and regulations governing the procedure of all nur- 
serymen who desire to make importations. All stock or 
seed brought into the United States must be inspected at 
the port of entry by experts and if found infested is de- 
stroyed. The Board also has the power to say what 
stock may not be imported or from what particular coun- 
tries importations are restricted. Any state or district 
within the United States may be quarantined at any time 
if it is deemed necessary to prevent the spread of danger- 
ous insect pest or fungus troubles. 

On July the first, 1914, the Federal Horticultural Board 
put into operation ten specific regulations, all of which may 
effect the Nursery Man. These regulations are still in 
force to-day and every shipper of stock should familiarize 



168 SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

himself with these rules. The headquarters of the Board 
is at Washington, D. C, to which all inquiries should be 
directed. The chief concern to the nurseryman over the 
enforcing of these regulations will hkely be the importa- 
tion of seed and stock used in propagation. It is now neces- 
sary in all cases to make apphcation to the Board for a 
permit which will entitle the holder to make importations. 
Blanks are furnished the apphcant to fill out in which the 
following information is required: The time of importa- 
tion, the locality and country in which the plants are grown, 
the name and address of the exporters, the port of entry, 
and the company or firm which is receiving the goods. 

All importations are divided into two classes; those 
coming from countries which maintain a nursery stock 
inspection and those countries which do not. In the case 
of the former the Board has authority to accept the certi- 
ficate of inspection from the foreign government if they 
consider them efficient, in all others the stock must be 
inspected at the port of entry. Where inspections are 
made stock found infested with dangerous troubles are 
destroyed. If the proposed importations are to be used 
for experimental purposes a separate permit must be 
secured giving in addition to the other information the exact 
designation of the plants to be imported. These regula- 
tions of the Federal Horticultural Board in no way satis- 
fies the laws of the various states and the nursery companies 
must see that their own state law is complied with. In 
most cases, however, the state officials are willing to accept 
the certification made by the Board. 

Another regulation of the Federal Board gives them 



EEVIEW QUESTIONS 169 

authority to quarantine any state or section of the country 
where dangerous outbreaks of insect pests or fungus troubles 
may occur. This may not only affect interstate shipments 
of nursery stock but shipments between different sections 
of the same state. Such quarantines may be permanent 
or temporary according to the judgment of the officials 
of the Board. Wherever such acts are contemplated 
public hearings are provided for where interested parties 
may appear and give evidence concerning the subject of 
the hearing. This serves as a check against hasty action 
and gives all interested nurserymen an opportunity for 
free discussion. 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

1. Explain the meaning of " Pedigree Nursery Stock." 

2. Discuss the application of Pedigree Stock to nursery work. 

3. Explain " Double Working " of stock, its value and use. 

4. What is meant by " Influence of Stock over Cion"? 

5. State some known effects of Stock on Cion or Cion on 
Stock. 

6. Give instances where the above is made use of in a commer- 
cial way. 

7. Give the theory in explanation of the reciprocal influence 
of Stock and Cion. 

8. Discuss hardiness in nursery stock and the extent to which 
it may be influenced by climatic conditions. 

9. What relation does hardiness bear to the place where nur- 
sery stock is purchased? 

10. What are Horticultutal Novelties? 

11. What should be the orchardists attitude toward novelties? 

12. To what extent do nursery companies aid in the improv- 
ing of fruits? 



170 SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

13. Give the nurseryman's viewpoint regarding the intro- 
duction of new fruits. 

14. Why are laws for the inspection of nurseries necessary? 

15. How is the work of inspecting nurseries conducted? 

16. What particular troubles will prevent the shipping of nur- 
sery stock? 

17. What is the Federal Horticultural Board? 

18. What relation has this Board to the various state inspec= 
tion laws? 

19. How may the rulings of the Board affect nurserymen? 



INDEX 



Age of nursery trees as affected by 
stock used, 158-159 

B 

Bark budding, 68 
Bark grafting, 103 
Bench working stock, 87 
Blighting of small seedlings, 27 
Bridge grafting, 105 
Budding or grafting best, 55 
Budding nursery stock, 55 
Budding practices, 55, 56, 57 
After-treatment of budded 

stock, 64, 72 
Bark budding, 68-70 
Buds from bearing trees, 76 
Collecting bud sticks, 76 
Culture of budded stock, 72 
Cutting buds, 62 
Fruits generally budded, 57 
Inserting the bud, 62 
June or dormant budding, 61 
Kinds of budding, 61 
Operation, 57, 58 
Practice in large nurseries, 66 
Selecting buds, 74, 75 
Shipping bud sticks, 77 
Spraying budded stock, 74 
Stripping the seedlings, 59 



Budding, tools used, 58 
Twig budding, 67 



Callusing, 89, 115 
Cions for grafting work, 107 
Cleft grafting, 96 
Counting nursery trees, 134 
Cracking hard seed for germina- 
tion, 29 
Cultivating seedlings, 44, 45 
Culture of budded stock, 72, 130 
Culture of seedhngs, 42 
Cuttings, 111 

Callusing bed for, 115 

Classification of, 112 

Fig, 121 

Fruits grown from, 112 

Grape, 118 

Heel, 121 

Kinds of, 116 

Mallet, 123 

Nurse root, 124 

Parts of plants used for, 112 

Principles involved in making, 
113 

Root, 124 

Simple, 118 

Single-eye, 117 

Soft wood, 127 



171 



172 



INDEX 



Cuttings, tip, 126 
Truncheons, 126 

D 

Digging nursery trees, 136 

Diseases preventing sale of nur- 
sery stock, 154 

Dormant budding, 61 

Double working of nursery stock, 
154 

Dwarfing nursery stock, 156 



Fall treatment of seedlings, 46 
Federal Horticultural Board, 166 
Firmer for planting seedlings, 42 
Freezing fruit seed, 28 
Fumigation of nursery stock, 138 

G 
Gathering apple seed, 13 
Gathering pear seed, 15 
Germinating tree fruit seed, 21, 22 

Lath houses for, 22 

Seed beds for, 21 

Small seed for, 23 

Sphagnum moss method, 22 
Grades of seedlings, 51, 52, 53 
Grading nursery seedlings, 52 
Grading nursery stock, 141 
Grafting machines, 91 
Grafting operations, 79 

Bark grafting in, 103 

Bridge grafting, 105 

Callusing, 89 

Chisel and mallet, for, 81 

Cions used for, 107 

Cleft grafting in, 96 

Grafting machines, 90, 91 



Grafting operations, inarching, 
104 

Kinds of, 86 

Piece root or whole root grafts, 
92 

Saws for, 81 

Shears for, 82 

Side grafting, 102 

Side whip graft, 93 

Theory of grafting, 85 

Tools used for, 79, 80 

Top working, 95 

Waxe3 for, 83 

Wax formula, 83, 94 

Waxing pot, 83 

Whip grafting, 86, 87 

Veneer grafting, 100 
Growing tree fruit seedlings, 20 

H 

Handling large seed for germina- 
tion, 27 
Handling small seed for germina- 
tion, 23 
Hardiness in nursery stock, 162 
Heading back nursery stock, 132 
Horticultural novelties, 163 



Inarching, 104 

Influence of stock on cion, 155 

Insects preventing sale of stock, 

166 
Inspection of nurseries, 161 



June budding, 61 

K 

Ends of grafts, 86 



INDEX 



173 



Lath house for germinating seed, 

22 
Laws affecting nurseries, 165, 166 
Locating the nursery, 33 

M 

Mechanical effect of stock on 
cion, 161 

N 
Nursery, 32 

Common practices of com- 
panies, 3 
Digging the trees, 136 
Distribution of companies, 2 
Drainage requirements, 36 
Fumigation of stock, 138 
General considerations, 32 
Grades of stock, 143 
Grading the stock, 141 
Increase and decrease in im- 
portance, 3 
Inspection laws of, 165 
Investments in, 2 
Limitations of, 32 
Points on location of, 33 
Practice in relation to cli- 
mate, 3 
Preparation of site, 39 
Protection from wind and an- 
imals, 37, 38 
Pulling nursery trees, 137 
Relation to the orchardist, 1 
Requirements for site of, 35 
Size of plat for orchardist, 34 
Soil requireraents of, 36 
Stock for propagation for, 4 
Storage sheds for, 139 



Packing nursery stock, 150 
Pedigree nursery stock, 152 
Physiological effect of stock on 

cion, 161 
Piece root or whole root grafts, 92 
Planting fruit tree seed, 23, 40 

By hand, 23 

In the summer, 29, 

Machinery used, 24 

On large scale, 25, 43 
Pulling nursery stock, 137 



Seed beds for germinating seed, 21 
Seed for nursery work, 4 
Cracking of, 29 
Freezing of, 28 
Importations of, 9, 15 
Native or imported, 9, 12 
Quantities used in U. S. for, 18 
Requirements of good seed for, 4 
Securing good seed for, 5 
Testing of, 29 
ViabiUty of, 30 
Where to look for good, 6 
Seed for the various fruits, 6 
For the apple, 10 

apricot, 6 

cherry, 9 

chestnut, 16 

nut fruits, 15 

oUve, 17 

peach, 6 

pear, 15 

plum (myrobalan), 7 

walnut, 16 
Seed planting, 40 



174 



INDEX 



Seedlings : 

Burying to remove leaves of, 47 

Culture of, 44 

Digging of, 46 

Fall treatment of, 46 

Fertilizing of, 45 

Grades of, 50, 51, 52 

Grading of, 49 

Handling of, 42 

Spraying of, 46 

Storage of, 49 
Selection of buds, 74, 75 
Selling nursery stock, 143 

Catalogs used for, 145 

Filling orders in, 149 

Jobbers' methods in, 147 

Methods of, 143 

Office routine in, 147 

Subagents' methods in, 145 
Separating fruit seed from flesh, 

13, 14 
Setting out imported seedlings, 40 
Shipping fruit seed, 17 
Side grafting, 102 
Small nursery plat, 34 
Soaking fruit seed for germina- 
tion, 29 
Spraying machines, 134 
Spraying nursery stock, 46, 133 



Stock for propagation, 4 

American-grown seedlings of 

apple for, 11 
French crab apple for, 10 
Kinds in common use for, 5 
Storage sheds for nursery stock, 

139 
Stratification of seed, 21 
Subtropical seed, 18 
Summer culture of nursery stock, 
130 



Testing fruit seed for germination, 

29 
Top working old trees, 95 
Treatment of nursery stock, 130 
Trencher for planting seedlings, 

41 
Trimming of nursery stock, 132 
Twig budding, 67 

U 
Use of cuttings, 17 
Use of seed planters, 23 

V 
Veneer grafts, 100 
Viability of fruit seed, 30 



